


Trust Exercises

by Couyfish, Threshie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Awkwardness, Camping, Dean Needs to Use Actual Words, Dean and Food, Destiel - Freeform, Established Crowley/Sam Winchester, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fic contains art!, Fluff, Flustered Dean Winchester, Friends to Lovers, Hammocks, Humor, M/M, Massage, Mooseley, Pining Dean Winchester, Podfic Welcome, Protective Dean Winchester, Ruler of Hell Crowley (Supernatural), Sassy Crowley (Supernatural), Sharing Clothes, couples retreat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-04-17 19:23:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 46,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14196006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Couyfish/pseuds/Couyfish, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Threshie/pseuds/Threshie
Summary: Sam and Crowley have been dating, much to Dean’s dismay. When they decide to go to a couple’s retreat in the middle of the woods, Dean and Cas pose as a couple to keep an eye on them.





	1. Nature's Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Here goes another fluffy co-written Supernatural chapter fic! We have a tendency to focus on Sam, so this time 'round, Dean gets to steal more of the spotlight. New chapters will be posted each Tuesday. Comments and kudos are always appreciated, and we hope you enjoy the story! ♥

* * *

 

The overly colorful brochure hurt Dean’s eyes. It had little leaves and hearts all over it. 

“It’s just a weekend, Dean.” Sam was packing his bags as he spoke, dropping neatly folded clothes into a large gray-blue suitcase. He turned to Dean and frowned. “Why are you giving me a hard time about this? You know we’ve been dating.” 

"Yeah, but — work!" Dean sputtered. It was a weak excuse and he knew it. They'd had no cases for weeks. "It's so quiet, something's gonna happen, that's how it always works!"

Sam going out into the woods alone did not, historically, end well. Having the freaking King of Hell along attached at the hip would probably help deter attackers, but Dean still hadn't entirely ruled Crowley out AS a potential threat.

Sam shook his head. 

“Come on. It’s been slow. Just binge watch something and I’ll be back before you know it.” He grabbed the garish little brochure and smiled at it, holding it up to show Dean. “They have nature hikes.” He tucked it into the suitcase and struggled to zip it closed, practically laying on top of it to press it shut. 

Turning to his brother, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and sat it pointedly on the bed stand. 

“NOW,” he smiled at Dean again. “The bunker’s all yours!” 

"Whoa, hold it." Dean frowned at the phone. Suddenly this wasn't just a stupid situation, it was serious. "You're not even taking your phone? It's the middle of nowhere, Sam -- what if you need help?"

In his head, he was already going over the little map on the brochure He had the address...could keep an eye on Sam from afar, maybe. It was a damned COUPLE'S retreat or he'd just go sign on and be able to keep an eye on them.

“I’ll have CROWLEY with me.” Sam rolled his eyes, dragging his suitcase off the bed. It landed with a loud thump against the floor. He had probably packed books. He headed out of his room, suitcase rolling in tow. “I brought a camera.” 

Dean crossed his arms and scowled after his brother. Sam WOULD pack books on a couple's retreat. What a nerd.

When it was apparent that Sam was not about to come back, Dean groaned and started after him.

"HOW long is this for again?"

“Three days. Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Sam called back, pausing at the base of the stairs long enough to slip his coat on. He seemed genuinely excited about the retreat, as he was still smiling. He turned to wave a hand at Dean. “Seriously. I’ll be okay.” 

Dean gave him a very dubious look in return.

"Right. You at least packed some weapons, though?

Sam’s smile changed to a cringe as he shrugged a shoulder.

Dean snorted. "Your lead weight books might work."

Sam really was going to the middle of nowhere, unarmed, without his phone. With the King of Hell. Yeah, Dean was definitely NOT going to be spending the next three days binge-watching TV.

“Yeah.” Sam actually chuckled at the book comment. He grabbed the handle of his suitcase and started dragging it upstairs. “Hey, why don’t you call Cas? I’m sure he’d love to lay around and watch TV.” 

Dean sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"He probably would. You sure you don't need a ride or anything?" Crowley could just teleport them there, and Dean knew it, but it would seem weird if he didn't offer.

“Uh, sure. Maybe if you see the place, you’ll stop freaking out.” Sam leaned on the railing at the top of the stairs to look down at him. “Could you text Crowley for me? He was picking me up.” 

Oh, crap. Actually driving didn't leave Dean time to orchestrate what he'd been about to...

He didn't need to fake the look of irritation as he tapped at the screen of his phone. He wasn't texting Crowley, though, he was texting Castiel. He could think on his feet, damn it!

_Need your help. Sam and C going to stupid couple retreat thing, need you to sign up with me so we can watch them._

He tossed a very short _Sam's riding with me_ at Crowley without bothering to add context and nodded to his brother.

"Let's go, then."  


* * *

  
Seeing the retreat didn’t make Dean worry less — it made him worry more. The lodge was the only thing visible as they drove along the lake shore. The cabins where people actually stayed were all hidden away in the trees. 

The lodge itself was sprawling. It had a massive outside deck area that hung over the lake and a big A-framed building that was three stories tall. Everything was smooth and white, with huge windows. It looked like it belonged in Hawaii, not Kansas. At least they were still in the same state. Sam probably planned it that way so he could get home faster.

Or had Crowley planned it? Hopefully Cas had gotten the address and was headed that way. He hadn’t questioned anything Dean had texted. He’d simply asked for the address and said he’d be there soon. 

Good ol' Cas. Dean could rely on his angel buddy to have his back even in these ridiculous circumstances. And ridiculous was certainly the right word for this situation.

They'd made a brief pit stop on the drive here, and Dean has sneakily signed him and Cas up for the retreat on their website. Smartphones were awesome. Luckily for them, the retreat was short a few couples still, and a cabin had been available.

It would've been better to get a cabin next to Sam's, but Dean's hacking skills on a smartphone in a gas station bathroom on a time crunch were pretty damn limited, so he couldn’t tell which cabin Sam was in. Whatever. He'd be around.

"Nice place," he commented to Sam, nodding to the lake. "Looks kind of like that lake the drowned ghost kid was in."

Sam cast a frown his direction and didn’t comment. He hoisted his suitcase out of Baby’s backseat and wheeled it happily up to the lodge’s shiny glass doors. The moment the doors opened, Dean was hit with by the scent of freshly baked pastries — that fluffy donut smell with glaze and…was that maple? 

He waved at Sam and revved Baby's engine, starting to back up and turn the car around. Cas said he'd text when he got there, and it didn't hurt to let Sammy think he was spending the weekend without them for a few more minutes.

Besides, he had to park Baby somewhere safe. Judging by the delicious pastry smell wafting out of the lodge, this place wasn't as leafy green crunchy granola as he'd expected of somewhere Sam picked.

Maybe Crowley really did plan the weekend...

Castiel’s car suddenly came charging up the road behind him, pulling into a parking spot behind Baby with surprising smoothness. The angel stepped out and shut the door behind him, heading into the lodge. So much for texting when he arrived. Had he seriously not noticed the Impala? 

"Cas! Over here," Dean called after him, climbing out of the car and shutting the front door loudly. He would’ve sounded annoyed, but he was too busy being impressed by that smooth skid parking maneuver. Where did Cas learn THAT from?

Cas turned around at the sound of his voice. He looked a little frazzled. His hair was all mussed and his tie was hanging crookedly to the right. 

“Dean. I came as fast as I could. I’m sorry that I’m late.” 

Dean waved him over, going to the back of the Impala to pull his backpack out of the trunk. It was a good thing he always had spare clothes and stuff packed for hunts -- Sam actually accepting his offer of a ride hadn't given him any time to pack other stuff.

"It's fine, Sam just went in like two minutes ago. I signed us up already, we just need to get to the introduction meeting," he explained to Cas.

Castiel eyed the backpack suspiciously, joining him by the trunk. It was then that Dean spotted the bloody hand print on the angel’s shirt peeking out from under his coat. 

“Is there a monster?” 

Glancing around to be sure nobody else saw, Dean grabbed one side of the coat and tugged it to cover the blood.

"Not unless Crowley counts." He slung the backpack over his shoulder and shut the trunk, frowning. "It's just stupid, Cas. He's out here without me, left his phone, and he's going with a DEMON."

Catching on that he shouldn’t walk around with blood all over him, Cas buttoned up his coat. He tried to run a hand through his hair, but it caught and came out smeared in red. He glance around and then stuck his hand into his pocket. 

“Dean, they’ve been together for months. If Crowley wanted to harm Sam, he would have done so by now.” He looked around at the retreat, squinting at the lady behind the desk. 

Dean pulled the angel’s bloody hand out of his pocket and looked at it with a frown.

"Jeez, this isn't yours, is it? Good thing I have some spare clothes for you." He shook his head, patting his friend's shoulder. "Trust me, something's fishy about this retreat. Sam made sure to wait ‘til the last possible minute to tell me about it, and then the whole drive he didn't say ANYTHING. Not a word."

“The blood isn’t mine. A vampire mistook me for a human at the park.” The angel tucked his hand back into his pocket as they entered the lodge. He had no comment about the retreat, but he was following Dean in, so the plan was a go.

Several couples were lingering around. Most of them looked excited to be there, with the exception of two women. One looked like she would explode from joy, while her assumed partner was staring at a bowl of candies like they were her only friend. 

The receptionist was a young Hispanic looking woman with her hair tied up into a ponytail on the top of her head. She smiled brightly at them as they came inside. 

“Hello, happy couple! I’m Selena and I’m so excited to welcome you to Nature’s Kiss! I hope you packed extra hugs and smiles, because you’ll be wearing them all weekend!” 

Cas stared at her silently and she laughed nervously, turning to Dean. 

“What’s the check in name?” 

"Winchester. Not Sam, the other one," Dean said, realizing that didn't narrow it down much. "Uh, it's Dean Winchester and Cas Novak." He patted Cas's arm, mustering a smile. "And we're happy to be here, he's just a little grumpy because he didn't sleep at all last night."

Technically it was true...

“Oh, our last minute couple. I’m so glad you could make it!” She beamed, producing a set of little keycards from under the desk and offering them to Dean. She smiled at Cas again. “Novak? Is that Czech?” 

Cas glanced at Dean, clearly unsure how to reply. He just shook his head at her and she finally gave up and sat back down. 

“Have a great stay! The check in meeting is starting now.” 

"Thanks!" Dean stuck the keycards in his pocket, linked arms with Cas and shot the woman a charming smile. She was just doing her job, and she was kind of hot, too. Not that he was supposed to be looking at anybody but Cas on this trip… 

"Meeting must be in there," Dean murmured to the angel, nodding at the big sandwich board sign that said as much and pointed to a door out into a green woodsy area. There were indeed people seated on log benches around a big empty fire pit, listening to the camp coordinator speak.

There Sam was, Crowley leaned against his side looking like the cat that ate the canary. Ugh. Did he have to be that clingy?

Without absolutely no comment, Dean led Cas to the nearest empty log bench -- a ways away from Sam and the King of Hell -- and sat them down there. Here went nothin’.


	2. More Than Fair

The coordinator waved to Dean and Cas excitedly when they sat down, continuing her speech. Sam and Crowley didn’t seem to see them yet; they were focused on each other, exchanging smiles and whispers. Cas sat quietly at Dean’s side, taking in the circle of couples slowly. He kept his arm tucked through Dean’s. 

“…And this weekend is also our secret scavenger hunt!” The coordinator said brightly. “Yayyyy!” 

Everyone in the circle cheered…except for Sam. Sam was too busy staring at his brother like he had six eyes. 

“We’ve scattered painted rocks all over the resort. Whatever couple collects the most rocks by Sunday night gets a romantic raft ride around the lake, with dinner and music!” 

Again, the crowd cheered. 

Dean cheered along with them, like he was totally on board with this stupid mushy couples retreat and he'd planned it all. Hey, Cas didn't look like the excited party, so somebody had to.

This could turn out to be kind of fun. Camping with Cas would be amusing, and Dean was actually excited about the idea of teaching him to make pancakes. They were a good team — they could out-pancake these people, they sure as hell could.

And keep an eye on Sam, of course. The REAL reason to be there. The couple's activities were apparently all optional, but Dean was dead set on going to whatever activities Sam and Crowley did.

Sam leaned to whisper to Crowley, pointing the other two out with a concerned frown. 

As the crowd got more riled up, Cas leaned to take Dean’s hand, squeezing it gently. He was watching what the other couples were doing very carefully and imitating them. Yeah. That was it. 

Good ol' Cas, Dean thought, smiling at him. He caught on quick.

For the noble cause of looking like a real couple, he leaned against the angel's side and squeezed his hand, too. Sam was probably fuming, but Dean doubted he'd make a scene in the middle of the meeting.

“…And pieces of net reel you in a buttery seafood dinner!” The counselor finished happily. “So, have a great first day and I’ll see you at this afternoon’s cuddle class!” 

Everyone got up and started socializing. 

The overjoyed woman from the lodge lobby stuck her hand in Cas’s face. 

“Hi! I’m Betty!” 

Cas leaned back against Dean, looking alarmed. If it was possible, he was being even more awkward and weird than normal. 

Chuckling, Dean patted the angel's shoulders and reached around him to shake Betty's hand.

"Hi Betty, I'm Dean and this's Cas. Say hi, huggy bear," he added to Cas, nudging his side.

“Hi,” Cas said shortly, shaking her hand. “Dean and I are a couple.” 

“Oh yeah, I totally got that!” Betty said happily, dragging over her leggy friend. The woman looked bored. Or stoned. Maybe both. Betty slapped a hand on the woman’s chest. “This is Victoria. We’re engaged!” She showed Cas her left hand, pointing at the delicate looking white and gold woven ring on her finger. 

Cas nodded, keeping Dean close. 

“Congratulations. We aren’t engaged.” 

“Oh,” Betty said, blinking. “Sorry—” 

“What the hell are you doing?” Sam charged up out of the crowd and jabbed a finger at Dean. “Are you SPYING on us?” 

Dean wrapped an arm around Castiel's waist, turning to raise an eyebrow at his brother like that was the most outlandish idea ever.

"Hi, Sammy. Meet our new friends Betty and Victoria," he said brightly, gesturing to the women. "Ladies, this is my little brother Sam. Yeah, I realize the irony."

“Oh my god, that’s so cute!” Betty giggled, ducking under her fiance’s arm to hug her. “Hi Sammy! Like, dude, you’re SO tall!” She looked up at her fiance happily. “He’s taller than you, baby!” 

Her fiance grunted a response and stared off into space. 

“I can’t believe you!” Sam hissed at Dean, ignoring the two woman. 

"I know, I'm amazing," Dean replied mildly. He wasn't particularly intimidated by his brother's temper. Sam was guaranteed to be pissy about this -- he'd wanted to go off alone with no phone, after all.

Crowley, on the other hand, could literally send them to the moon if he felt like it...

The demon had not charged over with Sam, though. He was over charming about four other campers and sipping a cup of what looked like iced tea, totally at ease. Hopefully he wasn't trying to buy any of their souls.

“Excuse us,” Sam told the two women, dragging Dean away from them. Cas followed. Sam turned his brother around and crossed his arms. “What are you doing? I don’t believe you and Cas are together for a second — so don’t give me some bull story about that!” 

"Jeez, Sammy, he's right here," Dean replied, frowning and patting Cas's back. "He didn't mean it, sunshine. He's just pissy you love the great outdoors and I wanted to make you happy..."

He was pretty sure nobody but him was trying to sell this story, but wouldn't it be fun if Cas played along? They were there now and Sam would just have to deal.

“Sam,” Cas said softly, stepping closer to put an arm around Dean’s shoulders. He looked really serious. “I am sorry that you’re upset, but Dean was only excited after he saw the brochure. They have a brunch buffet.” 

Sam frowned at him. He was actually having trouble deciding if Cas was telling the truth or not. After a long pause, he nodded. 

“Fine. Whatever. Just leave us alone.” He shook his head in disbelief and went to join Crowley in the crowd of excited couples. 

Dean watched him go, then turned and wrapped Cas in a big hug. Hey, had to look all lovey dovey, gave a perfect opportunity to whisper in his ear...totally for the cause.

"We're in, we did it," he whispered, and he was pretty sure his smile could be heard in his voice. "You're a natural at this, dude!"

Hands came to rest on his waist and then he was looking down into crystal blue eyes. Cas nodded. 

“Thank you, Dean. I agree, Sam shouldn’t be alone here. Crowley isn’t the only demon here.” 

Dean stopped short, feeling his face getting warm. Why did their usual staring thing seem so much less platonic with their hands on each other? Not ON on each other, just...

Not important, he told himself, shaking his head a bit to clear it. Cas's eyes managed to look even more blue in natural light. Whoa.

"Who else is a demon?" Why was he still whispering, who knew? Looking at Cas's mouth instead of his eyes was to keep the eye contact from getting all weird and awkward. Yes. Completely for that reason.

Cas leaned the smallest bit closer, ducking his head down to catch Dean’s gaze again. 

“Betty is a demon,” he whispered very lightly, sliding his hands around to Dean’s back and pulling them closer together. “Her fiance is human.” 

Wow, Cas caught on quick to what other couples did. Sometimes Dean forgot people watching was a hobby of his.

"Huh. Thought something was off with her, but my bet was drugs," Dean murmured, smiling softly at his angel buddy. He leaned in and kissed Cas's cheek. Had to sell it, and he'd probably never have an opportunity this good again. "Anybody else...?"

“Not that I see. The lodge was large. There is a chance that some couples skipped this meeting.” The angel pressed a slow kiss to the side of Dean’s neck, then sat up. “Sam’s leaving.” 

Only the threat of Sam going off somewhere alone made Dean sit up, too. Cas was selling this a little TOO well, and he had goosebumps all of a sudden.

"Is Crowley with him?" He quickly scanned the room for a sign of either of them.

“Yes,” Cas nodded, turning Dean in his arms to see. Sam was holding Crowley’s hand and leading him away from the crowd. 

Sam still looked pissed. 

"Okay, storming off I kinda expected," Dean admitted. "Crowley'll notice another demon around, but we shouldn't let them out of our sight for too long."

He sighed. He'd just known something dark was creeping around to threaten Sam, even way out here!  


* * *

  
The hike up to the cabin was quiet, at least. The cabin was small and as pretty as promised. It had a nice little patio, a cozy looking two seat swing out front, and a hell of a view of the lake. It wasn’t as far out as Sam had hoped for, though. Especially with Dean skulking around. 

He sat his luggage down to dig out his keys, shaking his head. Dean couldn’t leave them alone for a few days? What did he think was going to happen? Sure, Crowley had been their enemy for years — but they had partnered up with him several times since then. 

Then the whole dating thing. Sam pushed the cabin door open, shoving his luggage inside. 

The interior of the cabin was plush. All the decor was white, green and brown. The bed took up most of the room, piled high in fluffy looking pillows and comforters. It was inviting, as long as Sam didn’t stop to wonder if Dean was spying from the bushes. Ugh. 

Crowley had been out on the cabin's tiny porch, but when Sam turned away from the bed he found the demon standing nearby, placing his black leather suitcase beside Sam's luggage. He'd promised not to do anything on this trip that would alarm normal humans, but the cabin was probably far out enough that nobody had seen him vanish. Probably.

Stepping over to Sam's side, Crowley wrapped both arms around his waist. 

"Don't be so bothered, darling. This could be fun."

Sighing, Sam put an arm around him too. 

“I’m trying,” he mumbled, hugging the demon close to rest his chin on his head. “I guess I should have expected it. And Cas totally covered for him!” He grumbled, letting go of Crowley to start unpacking. He had to fight to get the zipper open. 

Crowley smirked at that, crossing his arms. 

"That's exactly what I mean by 'fun', Moose. I know Feathers -- he's actually dating Dean only in his sad, lonely little angel dreams."

He paused, looking thoughtful. "Dean MIGHT have the same sad, lonely little dreams. They're definitely faking it to us and each other, though."

“I’m the gay one, remember? Because I talk about things that bother me.” Sam finally got the suitcase open and started unloading it. He shook a flannel shirt at Crowley. “I’ll bet Dean IS gay! He’s just too insecure to admit it. I hope he doesn’t mess Cas up. As much as he’s learned, I don’t think he’s figured love out yet.” Sam sighed again and flung the flannel into the top dresser drawer. 

Who was he to judge Cas on that? Here he was, dating a demon. Not just any demon, either, Crowley was one that they’ve tried to kill on multiple occasions. He’d killed people they knew and they’d killed people he knew…oh god. It was all such a mess. 

Throw in the confusing fact that Sam was pretty sure he actually LOVED Crowley and bam, just another messed up day in the life of a Winchester. 

"Didn't seem insecure about all of that PDA in a crowded room," Crowley pointed out mildly, raising his eyebrows at the flannel. "He's toying with us, I say we toy with him. It's only fair." He shrugged.

For all of the twisted things Sam knew he'd done, he managed to look so innocent for a moment, there. The little spark in his hazel eyes was more mischief than anything.

Sam dropped the armload of shirts he had and took Crowley in his arms. He was right. Dean must have been desperate to come all the way out there, book a cabin, and drag poor Castiel along as a cover. With all the couples activity, Dean was sure to slip up sooner or later. 

Or admit to liking Cas. 

He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Crowley’s lips. If Dean wanted to spy on them and make sure the demon wasn’t going to whisk him away, he was going to have to sit through a lot of kisses. Sam broke away and smiled down at Crowley. 

“You’re right. That’s fair.” 

"More than," the demon purred, looping an arm up around his neck. That left them practically nose to nose, if not for how much taller Sam was.

"They're here to shadow us, yes? I say we do the MOST romantic, intimate activities this place has to offer..." That voice could charm the stars out of the sky, Sam was pretty sure. "They'll either give up or make fools of themselves. Either way, we win."

Sam blushed at the implications, agreeing with a nod. Two months of being together and Crowley could still make him feel shy. That was such a bizarre feeling. 

“So,” he stepped back over to his suitcase, “Cuddling 101 is tonight. And we should keep an eye out for those colored rocks. A raft ride sounds kind of fun.” 

Crowley snapped right back to smirking at that. 

"I get to touch you AND watch those two meddling morons fall over themselves. What's not to love?"


	3. Ground Hugs

With the class on cuddling looming on the horizon, Sam figured they had just enough time to eat something in the lodge. There was a full restaurant in the middle, surrounded by tall glass windows that offered a great view of the lake. 

Sam held Crowley’s hand as they walked. It was actually really nice to be somewhere that allowed them to do that. While Crowley wasn’t afraid of PDA, Sam erred on the side of caution. There were other same sex couples around though, so he figured he might as well enjoy it while he could. 

Being in a fancy vacation lodge while wearing comfy clothes was strange, but doing a cuddling class in formal wear would have been even more strange. Sam had swapped his jeans and flannel out for a pair of comfy gray sweat pants and a snug white and blue henley. He had rolled the sleeves up since it was warm.

Crowley hardly ever wore anything except his favorite black suit, but apparently he'd packed several new outfits for this trip. Right now the demon wore the same black slacks as usual, but he'd traded the dress shirt, blazer and tie for a soft black cable knit sweater. The V-neck showed the collar of the shirt beneath -- also black. Sam was pretty sure it was a polo.

They had seen no sign of Dean or Castiel on their walk back. There were only a few other couples at the lodge -- apparently they were hungry, too.

Sam picked out a table the back corner, surrounded by the towering windows and sat down. The bench was very comfortable. The benches didn’t make sense until Sam was seated next to Crowley. If they had been in regular chairs, they couldn’t have sat so close together. 

A waiter started their way with a menu tucked under his arm as Sam kissed the demon’s hand. 

“This place is amazing. Thank you.” He slipped his arm around Crowley’s shoulders and hugged him closer. “This is the kind of stuff I figured I’d never get to do as a hunter.” 

Crowley nestled against his side perfectly, resting his head on Sam's shoulder. 

"You're welcome, darling. It IS amazing -- especially the company."

He glanced at the waiter as he stepped up to the table.

“Good evening, gentleman,” the waiter said with a big smile. He was kind of cute, Sam thought. Vaguely reminded him of Kevin with the fluffy black hair. “Looking for a little snack to get you through cuddling class?” 

“Just something light. Salad, maybe? Right?” Sam looked at Crowley. It wasn’t like he needed to eat, but maybe he had a preference. 

"Fruit bowl?" Crowley suggested. "Strawberries ought to be in season right now." Right, Crowley was fond of strawberries.

“Ooh, yeah,” Sam said to the waiter. “Do you have like a big mixed fruit bowl? With extra strawberries please.” 

“Coming right up,” the waiter replied with a little bow, sitting the menu down before heading away. 

Sam smiled at his date, kissing his cheek. 

"If only my minions were so well-mannered," Crowley sighed, taking one of Sam's hands. He didn't seem to miss Hell particularly. As promised, he and Sam had both left their phones at home, so the demons would just have to get along without calling and texting every time they turned around.

The waiter returned with a large bowl of brightly colored fruit. He sat it down in front of them with a smile. 

“Anything else? Drinks? We have a full bar.” 

Now there was something Crowley liked.

“Two pina coladas, please.” 

“Coming right up!” The waiter darted off. Sam couldn’t believe his eyes. The waiter actually looked like he enjoyed his job. 

Sam snagged a fork and offered Crowley the biggest strawberry he could find.

"Well isn't that a sight," the demon purred, leaning in to nibble on the strawberry. He could have just eaten the thing in a few bites, but no, he had to lick the juice off of the side, too. Sam could hardly believe it -- he was feeling jealous of a piece of fruit.

Whatever look was on his face, Crowley smirked devilishly at it and plucked the strawberry off of the fork, popping it into his mouth.

“Wow,” Sam mumbled, feeling his face and ears warm. “I hope you’re ready to be cuddled. A lot. I’d say cuddle the hell out of you, but I think that’s a lost cause.” He popped a piece of pineapple into his mouth. The tangy sweetness was perfect. 

The waiter returned with their drinks, all smiles. 

“Here you are, sirs. I hope you have a wonderful evening. Just wave if you need anything. Anything at all!” 

Sam gave him a nod since his mouth was still full. 

Crowley shot the man a charming smile and nodded, too. The pina coladas had tiny pink and blue umbrellas with white polka dots on them and slices of pineapple hanging over the edges of the glasses. He gave Sam the blue umbrella and himself the pink one, sipping it nonchalantly.

"Squirrel and Feathers at ten o'clock," he murmured, like it was of no importance whatsoever.

Sam almost tipped his drink over in a hurry to wrap Crowley in a hug. Damned nosy brother! He leaned down and kissed the shorter man’s cheek. 

“We have to out-cuddle them and we have to find a painted rock. That raft is probably the only chance we’ll get at some privacy!” he whispered quickly, glancing to check where his brother was. 

"I like where that train of thought is going," Crowley said, raising his eyebrows. He turned and nuzzled his face into the side of Sam's neck with a happy sigh.

Dean was currently waving his arms around and flailing to Cas over the selection of danishes in the glass case. He didn't seem like he was that interested in what Sam was doing, if anything could distract him, it would be food.

Sam watched them for a moment. Dean following him around was irritating as all hell, but there he was, happy over something as simple as food. Maybe Cas hadn’t been lying about the brunch buffet. Sam let himself smile, offering Crowley another piece of fruit. 

“Don’t get cocky, but I think you’re right. Let’s see what we can get Dean to do.” 

"He's very stubborn," Crowley smirked. "So is Blue Eyes over there, so this ought to be good."  


* * *

  
Cuddling class. How could something with such a cutesy name be so intimidating? Dean had tried to soothe his nerves with a couple danishes. To keep up cutesy couple appearances, he'd picked the honey-flavored one and fed about half of it to Cas in little bites.

Speaking of Cas, he was distracting right now. He couldn't exactly show up to the class in blood-stained clothes or an overcoat, so Dean had loaned him a black AC/DC T-shirt and a pair of faded jeans he usually only wore while tromping through the woods.

They were fitting for this middle of nowhere place. They didn't quite fit CAS, though, in the distracting a-bit-too-tight way.

"It's just huggy stuff," he mumbled as they took a seat near the back of the room. He was mostly reassuring himself, not Cas.

“Welcome everyone!” Selena the receptionist stood up in front of the class, smiling beautifully. She was dressed in a red tank top and painted on little black shorts. She waved to everyone. 

The room wasn’t as packed as Dean had expected. It was six couples total, minus him and Cas. Sam had also settled near the back of the room with Crowley, and was doing his best to ignore them. 

“Let’s start our class with a gentle warm up. Gotta get those arms ready to snuggle! Stretch up!” She lifted her arms over her head, looking around to make sure everyone was following. “Now wiggle those fingers!” 

Cas fell into place beside Dean, quickly sticking his arms up. He leaned over next to Dean. 

“The demon’s here.” 

Dean stuck his arms above his head and nodded. Right, right. Betty the chipper demon. He had to wonder if her fiance had even noticed her personality change after being possessed, with how checked out she was.

Crowley sat close to Sam’s side, and boy was it weird to see the King of Hell doing cutesy little arm stretches, especially in short sleeves for once. He had a black polo shirt on, and what looked like a sweater was sitting on the bench beside him.

Sam looked like he was enjoying himself. He was smiling as he following along with Selena’s instructions. 

“Stretch out,” the dark haired woman said, lowering her arms to the sides. 

Betty and her fiance were sitting in front of them. As always, the shorter woman was totally into the exercises and Victoria looked drugged. 

Cas shifted so he could stretch his arm in front of Dean. He was very focused on Selena’s every move. 

Dean was not used to being able to see Cas's arms. When the hell did he get so much muscle tone? He didn't even need muscles!

Dean sneaked a covert glance at Betty again, but nothing had changed there -- still ridiculously into the class. He had to lean back a bit to stretch his arm out without hitting into Cas's, and even then his fingers brushed soft T-shirt fabric on the angel's side. His own shirt was traitorously working against him, here. Was that weird?

“Alright everybody! We’re going to start with the easy one — the Sweetheart’s Cradle!” Selena walked through the crowd as she spoke, pausing to direct Betty and Victoria as her examples. “For this one, one of you is going to be the protector: strong and loving. You’ll be the strong pair of arms that holds your sweetie close and tells them everything’s going to be A-OKAY.” She patted Victoria’s shoulder. “First, one of you lays down on your back.”

Cas immediately laid down on his back, craning his neck to watch what Selena was doing. 

They had to lay down? Dean stayed on the bench and fidgeted, sneaking a peek to see who was getting on the floor, Sam or Crowley. Floor person was the big spoon, right?

Unless it was the other way around.

Wait, did Cas think Dean was the big spoon? Did he think Dean was the LITTLE spoon? Oh, crap, did Dean even know what spoon he was?

Sam was laying on the floor, playfully stretching his arms over his head. 

“Now, your sweetheart lays down next to you and tucks their head under your chin.” 

Betty did as she was told, snuggling up against Victoria. 

“I know it’s tempting, but no playing footsies here.” Selena scooted the demon woman’s legs away from her partner’s. “It’s all about that strong arm!” 

“Dean? I know this position,” Cas commented, looking up at him from the floor. He beckoned Dean closer, patting the floor at his side. 

No footsies, Dean told himself silently on repeat. No footsies, no footsies, noooo footsies. He could do this. It was just a...a ground hug. 

Crowley sure looked right at home over curled up on Sam like a cat. Sam didn't exactly look opposed, either.

A bit awkwardly, Dean got down on his knees and laid beside Cas. He didn't quite rest his head on the angel's chest, though, so much as on his shoulder. If his arms were distracting to look at, they were even worse to be leaned against. 

Good thing they weren't actually gay for each other, or this would be so awkward...yup...incredibly...


	4. Fake

Castiel slipped his arm around Dean, tipping him closer. He rubbed Dean’s back gently and closed his eyes. After a second he frowned and opened them again, though, glancing down at Dean with concern. 

“Are you okay? I can hear your heartbeat.” 

"Mmhm. Yep, I'm awesome," Dean managed, quickly closing his eyes. He hadn't done a whole lot of cuddling anybody lately. Cas didn't just have really freaking nice arms with no effort, he had gentle hands. And now that Dean was close enough, he smelled good too -- which made NO sense, it wasn't like he used cologne or aftershave!

It just plain wasn't fair. Neither was the nagging in his head telling him he wasn't noticing out of jealousy, exactly.

Had to focus. Demons. Sam. Sam and demons, demons and Sam... He took a few deeps breaths and relaxed. Cas was actually very comfortable, once he relaxed.

“Everyone comfy? This is a great pose for helping your partner get through those tough times. Let’s hold this position for a few minutes,” Selena said nicely, passing by them. 

Cas adjusted a little, resting his other hand on Dean’s shoulder. He made little circles with his thumb there. 

How the hell had Cas known about the Sweetheart Cradle? 

The guy read about some pretty random things. Dean wondered if the retreat's website had any info about the classes on it. He chanced opening his eyes to peek up at Cas.

"You really do know this one, huh?"

The angel was staring down at him, a peaceful smile on his face. He gave a little nod. 

“Yes. It’s the only one I know, though. I’m sorry.” Castiel’s smile faded and he closed his eyes again.

Dean tried not to stare, he really did, but Cas was pretty close to his face and all. The little smile was only there a moment, but it practically made his mind go blank.

Cas was ridiculous. Most people got less perfect up close, not more. It really wasn't fair. Dean was sure his stupid freckles were obvious this close, among other imperfections.

"Hey, we're in a class," he said, trying desperately to sound nonchalant. "You'll learn some new ones in a minute, right?"

“I’ll do my best.” Gently, Cas guided Dean’s head back against him. 

The class was pretty quiet, other than the occasional giggle from Betty.

This was weirdly soothing. Sam was right over there, and the demons were both accounted for, so Dean felt like he could actually relax a bit. Besides that, Cas was so good at this Dean was suspicious. How did somebody cheat at cuddling?

He was so comfortable he was starting to feel like napping. He wondered if Cas was comfortable being leaned on.

“No sleeping!” Selena suddenly said, clapping her hands lightly. “It’s time to change poses.” 

Cas carefully sat up, arm still around Dean. 

Sam and Crowley were also sitting up, but they were still in each other’s arms.

Dean blinked, sitting up after a moment. Cas had just sat up and taken Dean right with him, and it was too easy to forget his angel buddy was extremely strong and could do stuff like that with ease.

Crowley was pulling Sam down for a kiss, tugging on his hair in the process. Dean wanted to find that disgusting, but they looked so damned happy about it that it was just disgustingly cute.

Ugh. Did he just think that about anything involving Crowley?

"That didn't hurt too much," he whispered to Cas, trying to smile and make light of the situation. Funny, not too serious, was a good idea here.

“Our next pose is call the Lap Pillow! Those that were cradled last time please sit down with your legs straight out in front of you!” 

Cas turned and looked at Dean expectantly. 

“I hurt you?” He asked, eyebrows lowering. “Cuddling isn’t supposed to hurt. Was I holding you too tightly?” 

Sam lay back down across the room, resting his head on Crowley’s lap. 

Dean peeked at his brother and the King of Hell out of the corner of his eye. Nope, no change, still making heart eyes at each other while Crowley ran his fingers through Sam's hair. Jeez they needed to get a room.

Sitting on the floor with his legs in front of him, he waved Cas closer.

"No, you did great. Seriously. C'mon, your turn to lay down."

“Maybe we shouldn’t cuddle, Dean.” Castiel hesitated to move, frowning. 

“Everything okay, you two? It’s an easy one.” 

“We’re fine, thank you,” Cas told her. Selena made a face and walked off, pausing to help another couple. 

Dean took one of the angel's hands and tugged on it lightly. 

"Hey, do I look hurt to you?" He whispered, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly, you did awesome. I felt so safe I almost fell asleep, okay? A for awesome."

Cas gave in and laid down, resting his head on Dean’s lap. He stared up at Dean. 

“Dean,” he whispered very softly, reaching a hand up to take Dean’s again.

Dean blinked and squeezed his hand, studying his face. His dark hair was sticking up messy, probably from hastily pulling the shirt over his head not too long ago, and he had a little bit of scruff on his chin as usual. Looked right at home in Dean's band T-shirt.

To sell the cute couple act, really sell it, Dean decided he had to touch the hair. To do less would look suspicious. He kept hold of Cas's hand and ran his fingers through the angel's hair with his free one.

"Yeah, Cas?" 

It felt like ages since Cas said his name, but it had probably been about twenty seconds.

“I saw a painted rock out the window. Should we go pick it up after class?” Cas stared at him, blinking slowly. If Dean didn’t know better, he’d think Cas was getting sleepy. But angels didn’t sleep. 

Maybe he was faking it, Dean thought, to keep up appearances. Damn he was good.

With the same in mind, he smiled softly and pet Cas's hair. He had to admit, that was fun. How did the guy's hair stick up so much and stay so soft?

"Sure, sounds fun," he said quietly. "Hey, how you holding up without the coat? Thing's probably like a security blanket by now, huh?"

“Your clothes are very comfortable.” The angel closed his eyes. 

Selena passed by, ducking into Dean’s view to give him a thumbs up before she addressed the room. 

“I know this one can be hard for some of us. It takes a lot of trust to just leave yourself open like that. You’re all doing really good! Tell your pillow partner that you trust them.” She glanced slowly back at Dean and Cas, especially at the angel. 

“I trust you, Dean,” Cas said, eyes still shut. 

Again, Selena ducked to give Dean an excited thumbs up. 

Dean glanced at her and then quickly back down to Cas. The angel looked very relaxed. Dean never saw him sleep, so it was really rare to even see him close his eyes this much. Really did look angelic...

He smiled and squeezed the hand he still held.

"Trust you too, Cas."

“Thank you.” Castiel opened his eyes and smiled up at him, brushing his thumb over the back of Dean’s hand. 

“This position is the perfect time for a kiss!” Their counselor added cheerfully, walking around the room. 

Kiss? Dean tried not to gulp too noticeably, looking down at Cas. He was the all-in kind of best friend. Dean was sure he'd play right along with a kiss if Dean leaned in right now. And it wasn't like they could sell being a couple without at least a LITTLE bit of that, right?

He'd kissed strangers at bars.

He'd kissed crossroads demons.

He leaned down and kissed Cas.

It was a pretty innocent kiss -- just a brush of lips and a bit of stubble -- but that was enough to send butterflies through his stomach. What the hell was he thinking? Cas was just FAKING, and he should've been, too.

A hand rested on the back of his neck as Cas leaned up into the kiss. Then he was staring up at Dean again, blue eyes hooded.

Dean stared back for a split second, startled at how much he'd wanted to go further than just a light kiss. He quickly looked down at their hands instead, though, and patted the angel's hair again.

Fake, it was fake. Cas was here because he'd asked for help, that was all. If any sparks flew, they were Dean's one-sided fault for forgetting.

“Alright. Time for our last cuddle pose for today — the classic Spoon! You might know this one, but let’s perfect it!” Selena announced with excitement. 

Cas sat up and looked at Dean. 

“I can be the little spoon if you want, Dean.” 

"Whatever you want is fine," Dean replied quietly. The kiss was still stuck in his head, and it was really bothering him. Not the kiss itself -- the fact that it was fake, or at least Cas was faking. He couldn't really convince himself he hadn't enjoyed that for real.

He peeked over at Sam and Crowley again, then at Betty and Victoria. Had to stay on task.

Sam and Crowley were already curled up on the floor, Sam cuddling Crowley and smiling. Ugh. 

Betty was the one spooning her fiance, though. It looked weird with how tall Victoria was. The tall woman looked like she was asleep. 

Cas laid down and curled up, resting his head on his arm. 

“Spooning is a favorite. It’s super cozy and really shows your partner how much you love them.” Selena came over to them, waving for Dean to get into place. 

Trying not to look at her, Dean lay down behind Castiel and scooted up close, wrapping an arm around his waist. And of course, it felt perfect. Of course. Cas was warm, and Dean had new appreciation for how toned his back was, and was his hand resting on actual abs?

Fake, he reminded himself, and moved his hand up, hugging under the angel's arm and resting the hand on his chest instead. Nope, that was not helping him think of this as just a big charade they'd laugh about later.

Suddenly this stupid retreat thing wasn't so fun anymore.

Cas scooted back closer, placing a hand over Dean’s. 

“There you go,” Selena said as she passed them. 

Cas waited for her to get farther away and whispered over his shoulder to Dean. 

“Can you distract Victoria?” 

Dean almost jumped. Right, they were NOT just cuddling. It underscored it for him again: Cas was on a mission, nothing more.

While he still had the chance, he turned and pressed his face into the side of Cas's neck. 

A slow sigh later, he asked reluctantly, "Right now? If you wanna get to Betty, might wait 'til they're not literally spooning in front of an audience."

“I mean after class,” Cas said, laying his head back down. “We can follow them to their cabin.”

Dean patted his chest gently. His very firm, toned chest. Sigh. 

"Thought we were gonna get that rock you saw."

“Oh. Yes. The rock.” Cas nodded quickly, taking Dean’s hand again. “We’ll get the rock, then follow them up to the cabin.” He turned to peek at Dean. “Did you want to have dinner first?”

His face was really close, but Dean avoided his eyes. They hadn't even been here 24 hours, and he was feeling mixed up. It was just pathetic.

"If one of the camp guests dies, that's it for the camp," he whispered, trying to sound reasonable. "I don't wanna ruin it for Sam unless we have to, so...let's just keep a close eye on demon Gidget for now. Okay?"

Again, Cas nodded. 

“Just dinner then.” He squeezed Dean’s hand. “Betty said that the lodge is serving spaghetti and meatballs tonight.”

He'd gone from thinking of smiting Betty to taking her dinner suggestions, just like that. Dean hoped he was never that far on Cas's bad side to casually switch like that.

His angel buddy clearly didn't have any problem with the kiss -- he was holding hands and letting Dean cuddle up to him same as before. Of course he was, because it was just a stupid game to him.

Dean was in serious trouble if he thought otherwise for even a second. 'When in doubt, eat' were the words of wisdom he needed right now.

"Awesome."


	5. Charmed

Sam watched as Cas practically dragged Dean away from cuddling class. What the heck? They were headed down the little stone steps toward the lake, but why were they in such a hurry? 

“Whatever,” the brunette mumbled, clasping Crowley’s hand in his. At least he and the demon had a few minutes alone. Well, they would have, if that annoying short woman and her girlfriend didn’t come charging up to them. 

“Crowley? Like OH-EM-GEE!” The little blond said, bouncing from foot to foot, swinging her tall girlfriend’s hand. “I haven’t seen you in FOREVER!” She leaned closer to Crowley, winking. “You look amazing. I didn’t know you were with Sammy!” 

Sam stared down at her, glancing at Crowley with a frown. He didn’t mean for the look to be quite so suspicious, but it was. The short blond was curvy and gorgeous and everything Sam wasn’t. How did they know each other? The way she greeted him was a bit too flirty for Sam’s liking. 

And she called him SAMMY. Ugh. 

"Forever and a day," Crowley replied, smiling at her far too fondly. "You're looking lovely, yourself — much better body than the last, I have to say. And here I thought I'd left Hell at home when I left my phone."

He laughed, which Sam was annoyed about for being so charming, and turned to Sam, placing a hand on his arm.

"Darling, this is Betty. We worked together when I was King of the Crossroads," he explained, seeming happy to share this with Sam.

“We’ve met,” Sam said shortly, trying to keep himself from scowling at her. Then Crowley’s words sunk in. New body, Hell, from the Crossroads? Sam stared down at the woman again. She was a demon! 

Betty didn’t look evil. Most demons didn’t. Then again, Sam was holding hands with the King of Hell. He squeezed Crowley’s hand, letting his frown fade away as he looked at the shorter man again. 

That smile and those hazel eyes made it so hard to think of Crowley as evil anymore. Sam bent and pressed a kiss to his cheek, turning back to Betty. 

“Sorry. It’s been a long day.” He smiled at them, turning to Betty’s girlfriend next. “Victoria, right?” 

“Yep. That’s me,” the black haired woman stated, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Nice to meet you,” Sam replied nicely. 

"Charmed," Crowley agreed smoothly, smiling at her too. "And YOU don't seem much fazed by all of the demons about."

Or by anything.

“I’m engaged to one. I’d be a major jerk if I hated on demons while I was DATING one,” the tall woman said, laying an arm over her little fiance’s shoulders. 

True, Sam thought. He had just come to the same conclusion. 

“Aw, babe!” Betty cooed, leaning up on her tippy toes to kiss her fiance. Victoria did nothing to help her. Then the blond turned back to them, eying Sam excitedly. “Sooooooo. I gotta ask! Are you two…?” She held up her left hand, wiggling her fingers to make her ring glint. “You know!” 

"Darling, if the King of Hell was engaged you would KNOW," Crowley purred, taking the hand she held out. Sam half expected him to kiss it, with that posture, but he only smirked. "Especially since you would be getting a wedding invitation."

“You better! Like oh-my-gawd, I’m so excited!” Betty giggled, hopping up and down and fanning herself with her free hand. Victoria just rolled her eyes. 

Sam wasn’t sure what to think. Even the suggestion of Crowley and himself being engaged had made his mind go blank. It was WAY too early to think about that kind of stuff! They weren’t even that serious about each other…were they? He definitely didn’t want to break up with Crowley anytime soon, but this was it. They were just going to date for awhile and then go their separate ways…right? 

Even HE couldn’t convince himself of that. That wasn’t good. 

"If you'll excuse us, we have some snooping to do," Crowley told the women in a conversational tone. "How lovely, though, that we'll get to visit some more over the weekend."

“Heck yeah! Snoop on! We’ll see you around!” Betty cheered, looping her arm through her fiance’s and leading her away. She looked way up at Victoria, smiling brightly. “Do you want spaghetti, babe?” 

Sam watched them go, his mind still considering how his relationship would probably end. A huge blowout fight sounded about right. Probably with lots of harsh words and maybe even Dean being caught in the middle. Dating just hadn’t been a good idea.

Crowley turned to him, taking one of his hands. 

"Sorry about that..." Did Sam's expression give away his thoughts? The demon looked a little guilty.

Staring down at him, Sam forced a smile, though he was sure that it looked sad. 

“It’s fine. She seems nice.” Pushing thoughts of breaking up away, Sam nodded toward the path Dean and Cas had taken. “They haven’t come back up. Do you think they’re making out?” He joked. 

Now Crowley looked a bit bothered, too. He waved at the path offhandedly.

"Oh, one of those painted rocks is out there. I saw it through the class window, and I'm sure Feathers saw it too." He glanced at the door they'd just come through from the class and smiled softly. "I know you wanted to collect those, but I had a thought. If Squirrel and the halo got them all, they'd be sent out to the middle of the lake. Alone. Can't get much more intimate than that."

He looked up at Sam fondly, hazel eyes twinkling, and added, "Seeing as we're already quite cozy with each other, perhaps they're in more need of winning than we are. Unless your heart is set?"

Again, Sam fought not to look as sad as he felt. He smiled and shook his head. 

“No, that’s alright. I’d love to watch Dean squirm his way through that one.” 

A romantic raft ride around the lake sounded nice, but they had plenty of other places to enjoy. Laying around in a hammock with a good book and Crowley sounded just as good. They might as well enjoy being a couple while they could. He leaned down, tipping the demon’s chin up to kiss him slowly. 

If Crowley had any idea that Sam was thinking about breakups, the sweet way he returned the kiss hid it well. It was tough to remember that this wasn't love when he did that.

He smiled up at Sam when they parted, taking the hand that had tilted his chin and lacing their fingers.

"Shall we go to dinner, then?"  


* * *

  
Dean rolled the smooth little blue rock against his palm in his pocket as they stepped into the lodge. Cas was still dutifully playing the part of his boyfriend, holding his other hand. Without trying to, Dean was squeezing the angel’s hand pretty hard.

There was just no way in which it looked good.

They'd lost sight of Sam and Crowley for a little bit when they went down the path, but when they returned they were just in time to see the couple talking to Betty — the DEMON Betty — and Victoria, who actually made a facial expression for once. Far as he could tell, Crowley and Demon Gidget were total pals.

That meant Crowley wasn't going to be any help defending Sammy if the demon woman was plotting to kill him! Sam was a Winchester, that was the natural response demons had to them (well, besides hitting on them. Dean, mostly.)

He and Cas had stayed out of sight until Crowley and Sam headed toward the lodge with the other guests for dinner. Now, as the smell of hot spaghetti sauce and fresh noodles wafted enticingly through the air, Dean was having a tough time relaxing.

Sam didn't think there was any threat. He was a sitting duck. Good thing Dean had come along on this damned trip.

“They’re right over there.” Cas tugged on Dean’s hand, looking back at him with concern. 

Sam and Crowley were cuddled up at the table in the corner with one large plate of spaghetti sitting on the table in front of them. 

Castiel suddenly stepped close and slid an arm around Dean’s waist, leaning to whisper in his ear with that shiver-inducing gravelly voice of his. 

“We shouldn’t sit too close to them. The buffet has garlic bread.” He added the last thoughtfully, glancing at the buffet of spaghetti. 

Dean had been so busy fuming about demons that he was caught totally off-guard by the whispering and hugging. As much as he loved food, he couldn't remember another time the words "garlic bread" had sounded like seduction.

Jesus. Could Cas tell his body temperature had just jumped a few degrees?

The cuddling class was like a curse, too. Even with worries about Sam and demons, Cas's arm around his waist sent him straight back to wondering which spoon was who...who was which...that. The spoon thing, about spoons and who was bigger. Wait...

Flushing at his own thoughts, Dean mumbled, "Nice." He let go of the angel's hand and hurried to the buffet line, hoping it looked like he was just eager to get to the food.

Cas followed after him, grabbing a big plate at the end of the row. 

Despite being a buffet, the spaghetti looked like it cost a lot. Everything was made perfectly, and a chipper Asian waiter was standing at the end of the line with a vat of cheese and herbs to top the plates off. 

The angel at his side dumped several heaps of noodles and sauce onto his plate, finishing it off with a arm-sized chuck of garlic bread. Jeez, was that all for Dean? It wasn’t like Castiel needed to eat. 

They sat at a table across the room from Sam and Crowley — still within sight, but not too close.

Remembering hand-feeding his angel buddy pieces of danish pastries earlier really wasn't helping Dean's state of mind. He should probably feed Cas some of the spaghetti, too...at least a meatball, something. He jabbed one with his fork and looked at Cas for a long moment.

No, he just couldn't do it. Cas didn't like how food tasted, either, Dean knew he didn't. What a guy to let Dean haul him into all of this.

"Hey, Cas," he began, sitting the meatball back on the plate. He sighed.

Taking that as some kind of cue, Cas picked the fork up and offered Dean the meatball clumsily, bumping it into his lips. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, frowning softly. “I’ve only seen this in movies.” 

Dean licked his lips, then realized how that might look while staring somebody straight in the eyes and hastily fixed his gaze on the meatball instead.

"You're fine, it's fine," he managed. No, the mental image of leaning in to eat a meatball while staring at it looked WAY too much like something from porn. He closed his eyes and took a bite instead.

That probably didn't seem much better. Neither did the happy "Mmm" Dean made when he realized, hey, the meatballs here were damned good. Holy crap.

Remembering where he was, he snapped his eyes open again, and suddenly the massive plate of spaghetti was the only non-awkward thing to stare at. He chewed on the meatball and looked at the mountainous tangle of noodles and blushed.

An arm wrapped around his shoulders as Cas scooted up against him. Dean could see out of the corner of his eyes as the angel swirled the fork in the saucy noodles and held it up for him to eat. He lowered it abruptly after a moment, though. 

“Crowley and Sam are kissing. Should we kiss, too?”


	6. Falling In

Cas was leaning into Dean’s view, expression quizzical.

Dean's mouth was suddenly dry. Why did he think this was a good idea again? He swallowed hard, which meant swallowing the food he was chewing too, and cleared his throat.

"No, uh, that's okay. Listen, what I was gonna say a minute ago..." He glanced at Sam and Crowley out of the corner of his eye. They were indeed kissing. Enthusiastically. Ugh.

Turning back to Cas, he huffed, trying to focus for two damn seconds. "I just wanted to say thanks, Cas, for going along with this. I know I'm dragging you into a lot of uncomfortable stuff."

Cas scooted a tiny bit closer, shaking his head stiffly. 

“I’m not uncomfortable, Dean.” He offered Dean the big bite of spaghetti. “This is a very interesting experience. I haven’t dated a man before.” He seemed like he wanted to add more to that sentence, then decided against it. 

Dean blinked and felt his brows lowering. Since when had Cas dated ANYONE? Did he miss something? A bit suspiciously, he took the bite of spaghetti. It was a huge bite — he ended up having to slurp some of the noodles up.

Damn could their cook make spaghetti. The garlic bread was probably amazing, too. Smelled amazing. Damn it, now he was wondering if Cas knew the Sweetheart's Cradle from cradling a sweetheart at some point. A chick, apparently.

Who the hell was it, Meg?

When Castiel turned to get another meatball for him, Dean noticed that the angel’s cheeks were a little pink. He offered the fork to Dean again. 

“Are you angry with me?” He asked out of the blue. 

Dean wanted to reply, but he was still chewing the giant bite of spaghetti, so he only shook his head. After he'd swallowed his food, he asked immediately, "Of course not, why would you think that?"

He'd just gotten done saying he was grateful Cas was doing this crazy retreat thing with him and everything! Maybe he'd scowled a little too much thinking about Cas cradling Meg. She was a demon and he was unstable at the time, it wasn't a good thing.

“…I’m glad,” Cas said softly, looking away. He wasn’t really looking anywhere else, though.

Just not at Dean.

In contrast, Dean stared at him. What...what exactly was he supposed to do with a response like that? If he didn't know better, he'd think Cas was acting shy. That was an extremely un-Cas-like way to act.

Rather than reply, he leaned forever and took a bite out of the meatball Cas was still holding up for him. Chewing was a good excuse not to talk for a minute or two.

As if a minute or two could untangle the mess he'd gotten himself into. Sam, demons, Cas hand-feeding him dinner and looking SHY like they were on their friggin' honeymoon...

Yeah, screw sorting all of that out. He was looking forward to going to bed.

Castiel turned back to him, looking surprised that Dean was eating. He took a bite of the meatball too, pausing to lick the sauce off of the side. He made a face as he chewed, frowning at it. 

“Can we go out by the pool after dinner? I saw another stone.” 

Dean gave him a thumbs up, still chewing. He was trying very hard not to think about Cas licking sauce off of things. Any things.

"Sure, we've just gotta keep tabs on Sam and Crowley at the same time," he whispered, glancing over at the demon and his brother. Turning back to the angel, he blinked. "Cas, have you ever been to a pool before?"

“I’ve walked by a lot of them,” Cas said confidently, finally swallowing his food. He leaned past Dean and tore off a piece of crisp garlic bread, offering it to him. 

Dean glanced down at it. He wasn't sure what compelled him to, but he looked at Cas as he took a bite. It crunched loudly, and he'd confirmed it — the retreat's cook knew how to garlic the hell out of some bread, too.

"We might have to swim," he said. It was a small bite of food, it didn't make talking impossible. "Was the rock underwater?"

“Yes it was,” Castiel confirmed, also sampling the garlic bread. He shuddered.

Dean blinked at that, feeling his cheeks burning. He really needed to get a grip — Cas was just awkward, not flirting. As if he was smooth enough to flirt, anyway.

"Something tells me neither of us packed swim trunks, so I'll jump in and get it," he volunteered.

The dark haired man shook his head, sitting the garlic bread aside. 

“No. I can get it. I don’t get cold in wet clothes.” Cas leaned around Dean to peek at the other two.

"Yeah...well, okay," Dean fumbled, unable to come up with any good argument to that. Cas didn't have any clothes to change into, but he was already borrowing Dean's — either of them could put on Dean's spare outfit from the backpack.

He looked where Cas was looking.

Sam and Crowley were talking, but Sam was looking…upset. He leaned his head on Crowley and sighed. 

“They seem to be distracted. We should go to the pool now,” Cas whispered.

Dean frowned over at his brother and the demon, wondering what was wrong. They were smooching earlier like they hadn't a care in the world — what happened?

"Yeah, you're right," he whispered back to Cas, sliding off of his chair and getting to his feet. As terrible as it was to think so, if Sam and Crowley were having a talk they'd probably stay put for awhile.

Hopefully it wasn't his snooping that was bothering Sam so much.

Cas followed after him, swooping around Dean to open the door for him. 

The pool wasn’t far. It was just outside the back side of the lodge, along with about a dozen potted leafy plants. The pool was expansive, stretching from the edge of the lodge out across the balcony over the lake. The edge near the lake was so thin, it almost looked like the lake was just a continuation of the pool. 

Castiel wasted no time, circling around it and hopping into the deep end without a care. 

Dean stood at the edge of the water, looking out over the trees and the sky that was starting to tint pinkish as the sun sneaked slowly toward the horizon. What a weird day it had been. Still was. They had a few hours left yet.

He looked down into the pool, watching Cas's dark hair drift around his head as he plucked the rock from the bottom. It was hard to tell from here, but he was pretty sure it was painted yellow. He stuck his hand in his pocket and palmed the blue rock they'd retrieved earlier together.

They made a good team.

Cas resurfaced next to Dean, holding up the rock to him. His hair hung over his face and he seemed like maybe he was having trouble STAYING afloat. He dipped back under and then grabbed the edge, dropping the wet rock there. 

Kneeling, Dean picked it up and put it in his pocket with the other one. He offered Cas his hands, smiling.

"Good job, you got it!" Not needing to breathe kind of gave Cas an edge at retrieving things from under the water.

The angel gladly took one of his hands, hauling himself up out of the pool. He spit out a mouthful of water and nodded, tipping his head to dump water out of his ears, too. The jeans and T-shirt he had on clung to his body. His hair was still plastered over his face like a sheepdog. Cas wiped at it with his free hand, keeping a tight grip on Dean’s with the other. 

Taking pity on him, Dean reached over and combed the angel's hair back from his eyes with his fingers. Now he was sopping wet and smelled a bit like chlorine.

The clothes were even more distracting now. Those jeans were not meant to hold somebody with thighs more muscular than Dean's. It was tough not to stare.

Again, Cas didn't even NEED muscles, and this was just plain unfair.

"We need a plan, Cas," he said, trying to focus on the task at hand. Sam was the whole reason he was here, and going to bed when he last saw his brother looking so upset didn't sit right with him.

Blinking to clear the water from his eyes, Castiel nodded. 

“You go to sleep and I’ll stand watch over Sam.”

Frowning, Dean pressed a hand to his hair and smoothed it back, wringing some of the water out so it couldn't drip into his eyes. If his hand lingered on the back of Cas's neck for a moment too long, who needed to know?

"I don't think I could sleep right now," he confessed. As nice as it sounded to sink into blissful unconsciousness, he was positive he'd lay there tossing and turning and worrying about his little brother if he tried to sleep.

And maybe worrying about himself, too. There sure as hell was some cause for concern after today.

“Where is Sam’s cabin?” Cas stepped closer, placing a hand on the arm Dean had around his neck. He looked up at the brunette with big blue eyes, nodding to him.

Dean stared back. He was used to being stared at by Cas by now, but not while holding hands. Slowly, he withdrew the hand from Cas's grip and offered a sheepish smile.

"Never found out. I was gonna just follow him," he admitted.

“Aw, honey, did you fall in?” Betty gasped, bounding up next to Cas out of nowhere. She was wearing a barely there string bikini that was so small it was hard to tell what color it was. 

Cas gawked down at her, eyes flicking lower. 

“I…yes.” 

“Poor widdle baby!” Betty giggled before she gave Castiel a hug. Cas hunched up, leaning away from her. 

Dean wasn't sure whether to be impressed that the bikini was staying on or to laugh at Cas's alarm about it. He wrapped an arm around Cas's waist and stole him away from the demon in a hug of his own. It got his clothes wet, but it was worth it.

"Yeah, we'd better get back to our cabin so he can change clothes," he told her, starting to lead Cas away.

Hopefully she took the hint.

The angel clung to him, hooking an arm around Dean’s waist in return. He glanced back at Betty. Weirdly enough, Betty’s fiance wasn’t with her.

“She can tell that I’m an angel.”

"Good, then she knows you can smite her if she messes with you," Dean whispered back to him, rubbing his back as they walked. Hey, he had to make it look like Cas was cold.

It occurred to him that if Betty was there, she wasn't lurking around as a threat to Sam. That was good, at least. They really needed to see which cabin Sam went to, but now they had to look like they were heading for THEIR cabin.

He paused on the trail and looked back at the lodge. Maybe they could pretend they forgot something. Or maybe...and this was a bizarre idea...they could just try talking to Sam.

Cas looked back down at the lodge too, running a hand through his hair to keep it out of his face.

“Dean, going back to the cabin is pointless. I’m not cold.” He turned back to the Winchester and pointed down the path back toward the large white building. “The lodge also sells clothing.” 

"They do?" Dean realized he hadn't paid much attention to the lodge besides the food. There wasn't much sense faking out going to the cabin for Betty's sake — she knew angels like Cas didn't get cold anyway.

"Okay, back to the lodge," he agreed. He was still considering whether just talking to Sam directly was a good idea. It didn't look like he was having a great time when last they checked.

Castiel held a hand out to him. 

“We shouldn’t leave Sam and Crowley alone. There might be blood if they end their relationship.” The angel stepped closer, reaching out to take Dean’s hand in his. 

"They've been hangin' all over each other so far," Dean pointed out dubiously. He squeezed Cas's hand, a bit jealous of how warm it felt. He was starting to shiver a bit just from hugging Cas and getting his own clothes wet.

He had mixed feelings about Sam and Crowley breaking up. When he showed up to the retreat, he would've thought that would be cause for celebration, but Sam looked so damned happy with his demon boyfriend all day...


	7. Sunset

The hammocks were a better idea than dinner had been. Sam hadn’t even been hungry. Sitting down and being so close to Crowley had just given the demon a chance to see that something was wrong. 

Sam found an unoccupied hammock near the end of the lodge’s giant deck. The hammocks were large, almost the size of a queen bed, and were set far enough apart from each other to offer a little privacy. Each one had a white metal stand and steps in front of them. The view behind them was ridiculously beautiful with the puffy clouds and rose pink sky. 

Sam grabbed the edge to keep his balance and hopped lightly up the steps to fall into the hammock. It was plush. Memory foam, maybe? 

He rolled over to the edge to look down at Crowley, smiling despite their bickering over dinner. He held out a hand.

“Hurry or you’ll miss the sunset.” 

The demon looked up at him with a perfectly pleasant, fond smile — and also with that glint in his eyes like he was scheming something. Crowley was smart. There was no way he'd let this go without some sort of explanation.

"I guarantee the view is better from here," he purred, climbing the steps anyway. He wasn't in any hurry to climb in, though, instead running a hand over Sam's cheek.

Sam stared up at him, leaning his cheek against the demon’s palm. That sparkle in Crowley’s eyes was worrisome. He really wasn’t going to let their argument go, was he? 

Crowley leaned in and pressed a little kiss to his lips, smirking. "Is that hammock big enough for a Moose and me?"

Sam slipped his arm around Crowley and pulled him up onto the hammock and on top of him. He ran his hands up the demon’s back, kissing his cheek. 

He wanted to say something snarky in reply. He wanted to joke about things and laugh it off. But the end of their relationship felt like it was looming now that Sam realized that they didn’t have a future together. It was just a date here or there until the end. 

Maybe Crowley would be happy with that — maybe Sam could be, too. 

As he'd done in the cuddling class, Crowley curled up on Sam's chest like a big cat. The hammock swayed softly, and the sunset's pink and orange hues washed over them.

This retreat thing had been Crowley's idea in the first place. Up until recently, the demon had seemed content with their arrangement, at least Sam had thought so. Maybe he'd been getting too attached this whole time.

Sam stared off into the rosy sky, sighing. What was he doing? He was wasting what time he had with Crowley being upset over the future. It was time to change the subject. He cleared his throat. 

“So, you know Betty from your Crossroad days?” 

"Mmhmm. Looked a little different back then," Crowley murmured, tracing little circles on Sam's chest with a fingertip. His tone had changed the tiniest bit, dropped, like he was put out that they'd come back to this subject.

“You guys were friends?” Sam pressed, rubbing Crowley’s back gently. He was trying to change to a happier conversation. After the way that the two demons had greeted one another, he had expected Crowley to be happy to discuss his ex-coworker. 

The demon gave a little huff of annoyance, though, and sighed.

"Yes, Moose, friends and business partners. Never partners of any other sort, if that's what you're concerned about. I promise you I had no idea that she would be here, and I don't intend to go off and socialize when I could be spending time with YOU instead."

“…What?” Sam mumbled, dumbstruck by the grouchy response. He shifted to look Crowley in the face. “I never thought that — I just wanted to know if you guys were friends. I didn’t think you guys were together or anything,” he explained quickly, wrapping his arms tightly around the demon. 

Crowley looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but instead just settled for a little frown. It looked downright sulky -- a word Sam sure hadn't expected to ever apply to Crowley.

"Yes, well, you were happy until we bumped into her," he pointed out to Sam. His expression softened, then, and suddenly he looked a little sad. "If not her, then what else?"

“Uh…” Sam trailed off, thinking better of whatever fake explanation he had been about to say. He chewed his lip as he thought. Telling Crowley that he was thinking about how they would break up wasn’t a good idea. But lying to him wasn’t fair either. Sam would have to settle for a half truth. “It was the marriage thing,” he admitted at long last. 

Crowley sat up enough to look at him, arching a brow. 

"Really? Because THAT demon and human are engaged and we aren't? Didn't think this was that sort of relationship." His tone made it sound like he almost hoped it was, though.

Feeling like he was put on the spot, Sam just shook his head. 

“N-no. I guess it’s not.” He laid his head back and stared up at the dimming sky. Hearing Crowley say that should have set his mind at ease. He wouldn’t have to worry about things getting too serious or what Hell might do if it ever found out they were dating…but it made a dull ache start in his chest. 

The end was inevitable. 

He swallowed and took a breath. Getting upset would do absolutely nothing, except maybe push them closer to that end. 

Crowley rested his head on Sam's chest again, falling silent. He slid a hand over and laced his fingers with Sam's.

"...Did the thought bother you that much?" He said it softly. Offhanded, like it didn't matter.

“The thought of us getting engaged?” Sam murmured, squeezing the demon’s hand gently. He swallowed again and shook his head. “…I don’t want to argue. Let’s just enjoy the resort.” 

There was a lengthy silence. If Crowley needed to sleep, Sam might have thought he'd drifted off.

Finally, out of nowhere, the demon said mildly, "Tomorrow ought to be good. Watch and see how fast your brother runs away from the hot oil massage class."

“Like his ass is on fire,” Sam joked. He couldn’t muster a smile though. He had been looking forward to oil massages and hiking. It was all so normal and mundane. 

When they were in that stupid cuddle class, he hadn’t had a worry in the world. It was just the two of them, smiling and having a good time like the world wasn’t ending every other week. 

Leaning down to press a kiss to the demon’s forehead, Sam sighed. 

“First we get to see Dean eat his way through the breakfast buffet.” 

"Ah, yes. Feathers has competition for his attention," the demon said drolly. He sounded perfectly fine again, as if the talk about engagements and his old friend Betty had never happened.

If there was one thing Crowley was awful at, it was forgiving and forgetting. Either he truly didn't care enough to pursue it, or he was an excellent liar.

Sam sat up a bit, keeping his arms around the demon. He was probably plotting that huge blow out fight at that very moment. 

“Do you want to just go back to the cabin? I’m tired. The first class is at 8 am.” 

Falling into bed with Crowley sounded much better than laying around arguing with him. Knowing Sam’s luck, Dean would probably show up to ruin whatever nice moment they had together. No matter what bullcrap story Cas told him, Sam knew his brother. 

"Mm," Crowley said, more of a sound of acknowledgment than an actual word. He sat up and slipped out of Sam's arms, stepping down from the hammock. Sam knew full-well the demon could teleport them back to the cabin, but standing up first probably was a good idea.

Crowley turned back and offered his hand. The darkening sky was giving way to a sprinkling of stars, and the light looked cold against his face. He smiled at Sam, his eyes still with a little twinkle in them.

"Shall we?"

Sam took his hand and lowered his feet down onto the steps. Towering over the demon once he stood, Sam still felt small somehow. Like he had been the one to lose whatever conversation they had just had. He held Crowley’s hand firmly and tried to focus on how it felt. 

He would just have to trust that they could endure as they were. Just lovers. Nothing more.  


* * *

  
Getting Sam's cabin number had been pretty easy. Dean had just had to remind Selena the receptionist and cuddling class instructor that he and his brother were both staying there for the weekend, and she had been happy to tell him Sam was in cabin 4.

Easy as it was, apparently it took too long. Dean and Cas had seen Sam settle into a hammock with Crowley and assumed they'd have awhile before they needed to go to the cabin. By the time they'd gotten back to the hammocks, though, they were empty.

And that was why Dean was a little out of breath now, peeking through the bushes like some creepy mouth-breathing stalker, his angel buddy in tow and still wearing wet clothes.

"Looks like they just got back," he whispered to Cas, craning his neck to see into the window again. Sam was just now taking off his shoes.

There was a squelching sound as Castiel knelt down beside Dean in the leaves. 

“Good,” the angel said in a whisper. He glanced Dean’s way, blue eyes even bluer in the dim light. Cas placed a hand on Dean’s back, face suddenly colored with concern. “We should have brought camping supplies. Betty told me it was supposed to rain overnight.” 

Dean glanced quickly back at him, suddenly flustered. The idea of Cas all wet in the rain was a bit distracting. WHY, when he was already all wet from the pool water, was another mystery. The thought of water droplets bouncing off of his hair and dripping down his face was different.

"We'll live," he said gruffly. Spying on Sam all night was probably a bad idea, unless he was trying to see a hell of a lot more than he ever wanted to see of Sam and Crowley both. The King of Hell wasn't on guard against Betty the demon, though, so they had to at least keep watch over the cabin.

He chanced a peek back through the window. Maybe their relationship was on the rocks, and they were doing this sappy retreat to try to make up, and sex wasn't even an option. He was a little hopeful.

Sam and Crowley were arm in arm. The tall brunette was speaking softly down to the demon. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw Cas lean forward to get a better look at the window. He wasn’t even blinking. 

For some reason, Dean spying was okay, but having Cas watch seemed like something to avoid. Dean tapped the angel's shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey, uh...we shouldn't watch them ALL night," he whispered, turning his back and sinking down to sit on the ground below the window. He waved for Cas to follow his example.

Castiel did as he was directed, sitting down next to Dean. After a moment of thought he scooted over, tucking an arm around Dean’s shoulders and pulling him closer. 

“I can hear their conversation,” he whispered deeply against Dean’s ear. “Sam wants to go to the oil massage tomorrow.” 

The angel still felt much warmer than Dean, unaffected as he was by his wet clothes. Dean would have been grateful that it was dark enough to hide his face flushing, except he was pretty sure angels could see as well as they could hear. That was to say, very.

"Oil massage? Great," he mumbled. The words had just sunken in, and he was trying not to panic at the thought of Cas in any sort of oil massage situation. If Sam and Crowley were going, though, they HAD to go to keep watch over the two.

Cas rested his chin on Dean’s shoulder, squinting and listening to the conversation inside of the cabin. Dean couldn’t hear anything. 

Apparently, the cabins were sound proof. 

Fantastic, Dean thought, Cas would probably just hear his heart thumping instead. As for Sam and Crowley, they could be doing God knew what only a few feet away through the cabin wall. Ugh.

He'd dragged Cas into this whole thing to protect Sam from Crowley, but now it was more about defending both of them from outside threats. When did that shift?


	8. Not-talking

“Are you alright, Dean?” Cas suddenly pressed a hand over Dean’s heart, frowning. He turned just his eyes to looked up at him. “…Am I making you uncomfortable again?” 

Dean blinked and quickly averted his eyes to the ground, shaking his head.

"Nope, all good here," he replied, clearing his throat.

He could just tell Cas. He could try to explain it. He was sure that his angel buddy wouldn't be pissed or anything like that, but would he get it? Did he have the equipment to get it?

“Your body temperature is elevated, your heart is beating quickly…” The dark haired angel trailed off, eyebrows perking. Silently, he removed his hand from over Dean’s heart and sat back away from him. He averted his eyes from the other man, too. 

Dean took a deep breath, then let it out all in a rush. Nope, there was no way he could spit it out. Now was a baaad, bad time to have this talk. Especially with friggin' hot oil massage happening tomorrow.

Maybe if he lived through that, he'd consider trying to actually talk to Cas.

"Seriously, man, it's okay," he told Cas, a little exasperated with himself. The guy thought he'd done something wrong now.

Cas continued to gaze off into the woods, eyes following the trunk of a tree upward to the starry sky above them. He scanned the stars slowly, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. Then he spoke quietly. 

“Is it? I didn’t mean to make you nervous. I was just attempting to keep you warm.” 

Dean couldn't help a little snort of amusement. Oh, he felt warm all right. 

"Pfft, I'm not NERVOUS. It's, uh, something else's on my mind. Not your fault," he said, cringing at how clumsy his own excuse sounded.

Slowly, Castiel looked his way. For once in his life, he seemed to be trying not to let on whatever was going on in his head. Of course, it was completely obvious by the look on his face: he wanted to say something, but thought that it would make Dean mad. After a very uncomfortably long stare, the angel turned his gaze back up at the stars.

Served him right, Dean thought uneasily — he didn't talk to Cas, and Cas in turn was not-talking to him. Now he actually was uncomfortable.

What was Cas thinking?

Dean looked up at the stars, too, and sighed slowly. Why did everything have to be so damned complicated?

"Okay, out with it," he said wearily. "That look was judgey as hell. Whatever you wanna say, just say it."

Hypocrite, his inner voice grumbled.

“Dean,” Castiel sighed, scooting back close enough to whisper to him. “We are spying on Sam and Crowley — now you are aroused. I was not casting judgment, I was observing. I was surprised that you’re being affected. I didn’t think you could hear through the walls.” 

Dean opened his mouth to reply, then shut it again, feeling his face flush all the way to the tips of his ears.

"I CAN'T hear anything," he whispered back an octave higher than normal. It came out as a sort of squeak. Jesus, they really were up to something X-rated in there. Something loud, apparently. He really, really didn't need those mental images right about now.

Cas scooted even closer, eyes still locked on Dean. 

“Then why is your heart beating so quickly? Are you worried about Sam? I can tell you what is happening, if that will help.” 

"NO," Dean whispered hastily, grabbing his shoulder. A nervous, fluttery little laugh burst out before he could stop it, and Cas's shoulder was so damned TONED through Dean's still-damp borrowed band T-shirt.

Son of a bitch.

"Cas, believe me," he began, painfully aware that the angel could hear his thundering heartbeats. Probably about as loud as thunder, too. "It's not because of Sam or Crowley."

“Then what is it?” The angel hissed in frustration. Did he really not know, or did he just want to make Dean say it?

The sound of the window opening interrupted their conversation. Cas ducked his head, freezing in place with a hand firmly on Dean’s shoulder. 

Dean, with his hand crossed over still holding Cas's shoulder as well, held his breath.

Demons could hear as well as angels, couldn't they? Better than humans, anyway.

Cas pushed him lightly, pointing off into the woods. Should they make a run for it? 

Dean glanced at him, moving his head as little as possible to do so. He wished he could ask Cas whether he heard Crowley or Sam approaching the window, but that would require speaking.

Either way, the demon could teleport right out there with them in seconds if he felt like it. Judging by what Cas said they'd been up to, Dean really, really hoped he didn't feel like it.

Screw it, fleeing the scene was a better option than waiting around to find out.

All of those thoughts had flown through his head in seconds. He gave Cas a quick little nod.

Cas swooped an arm behind Dean, hauling them both to their feet just out of view of the window. He dragged Dean along as he fled into the tree line. 

Stumbling through the woods in the dark was a hell of a lot more fun with a super strong angel half-carrying Dean along. As much as he should be panicking that Sam and Crowley had noticed them, mostly he was just relieved they'd interrupted that incredibly uncomfortable conversation.

He knew better than to expect Cas to forget about it, but he was planning to be exhausted and need sleep the second they got to their own cabin.

Then it was on to tomorrow, the hot oil massage class, and quite possibly death by embarrassment now that he realized Cas was so very aware of when he was turned on. Retreat was not an option, though.  


* * *

  
The instructor for the hot oil massage was a man in yoga pants and a baggy sweat shirt. He passed by them as Sam lay face-down on the massage table. 

After last night, Sam wasn’t really in the mood for a massage. As much as he wanted to relax and have a good time with Crowley while he could, last night had been a disaster. 

Crowley had managed to dodge around whatever was bothering him once they made it back to the cabin. Sam had been fine with just pretending everything was fine and having sex, until they heard what he was damn sure were Dean and Cas outside their cabin window! 

Sam gritted his teeth as he propped his chin on the luxurious silky pillow. It was impossible to even FAKE being romantic with his brother lurking around. 

The scent of cocoa butter and coconut oil wafted over Sam, and a moment later he felt Crowley's hands drawing slowly down his back. The demon's palms left trails of the hot oil, and before it had a chance to cool he brought his hands back up, drawing big slow circles over Sam's back and shoulders.

Crowley, it turned out, was great at giving massages. It figured. He'd mentioned getting a back massage a few times in the past, and must have picked up some tips from whoever did that. Or maybe sometime before that, considering how old he was. It was a bit daunting for Sam to remind himself that Crowley had been around for three and a half centuries. He didn't really act old.

“Try and relax,” the instructor told Sam in passing. 

“Yeah. Got it,” Sam grunted in reply, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. The touch of Crowley’s fingers was making him shiver even with the hot oil. It felt really nice when he took the time to enjoy it. Sam took another slow breath. 

Getting worked up over Dean snooping around was pointless. He had already expected it. Why was he letting it bother him? He sighed and shifted to get comfortable. 

"I wish you could see what I'm seeing right now, Moose." Crowley's voice was very close – he must have leaned down to murmur into Sam's ear. He sounded admiring, but maybe a bit amused, too.

Sam opened his eyes reluctantly, rolling to sit up on his elbows and look at Crowley. When they stood side by side, it must have been hard to imagine them as a couple. There was Crowley, with all his classiness and deep sexy voice. Then there was Sam. The tall, overly emotional angry one. Moose was a fair nickname – didn’t they attack people a lot? 

Sam lay back down and sighed heavily. Everything was pissing him off, but Crowley didn’t deserve it. He had been the perfect lover. Patient, suave, and way too sexy to be with Sam. 

“…I wish you’d kiss me more.” 

A soft, shiver-inducing kiss was pressed to his ear in reply, along with a whispered, "Gladly."

Crowley certainly wasn't acting like they were having relationship troubles. His hands were caressing and massaging Sam's shoulders with perfect ease, like they'd been together for years and he knew every inch of Sam's skin by now. The thought of being married drifted across Sam's mind again.

He fidgeted under the demon’s touch. Marriage couldn’t happen. It just couldn’t. It was a pointless ceremony since God wasn’t around to see, and who cared about tax breaks when they were marrying the King of Hell? Realizing that he was tensing up again, Sam tried to relax. 

Even if Crowley asked him, he could say no. Not that the demon would ask. He was smart. He knew getting married was pointless. As pointless as a Winchester and a demon trying to be a couple. 

Sam sat up and shook his head. 

“I’m sorry. Can we switch places? It’s not you — you’re amazing — I just can’t relax.” 

Crowley arched a brow, looking unconvinced.

"Well, this was supposed to help with that, but suit yourself," he said mildly, shrugging. He wiped his hands on the towel at the top of the table before starting to unbutton the black dress shirt he was wearing. "You're still more relaxed than Feathers and Squirrel over there," he added under his breath, nodding his head in their general direction.

Sam was tempted to look at them, but he didn’t mean to make everything worse between him and Crowley. Biting his lip, Sam frowned at how his words must have sounded to the demon. He reached out and took Crowley’s hand to keep him from undoing more buttons. 

“Wait. Wait. I’m sorry.” The words were hard to say. He swallowed the tightness in his throat, knowing that it wasn’t the place or time for a heartfelt discussion. He squeezed Crowley’s hand. “I’m sorry,” he said again. He ran a hand through his hair and laid back down. 

Dean was probably priding himself on wrecking last night for them. No need to give him more fuel by looking upset. 

Crowley gave a little huff that might have been frustration, but he was smoothing the warm coconut and chocolate scented oil down Sam's back again almost immediately.

It was less of a kneading, pressing massage, though, and more just caressing with his palms.

"Sam," the demon said softly after a moment. He didn't sound like he was joking around like before. His tone had dropped a bit, almost sadly.

Sam pressed his face into the pillow, knowing that it was easy to see the sadness on his face. All anger had faded away when he heard the demon’s voice again. The quickest way to dampen Crowley's mood was to tell him he wasn't good at something. Sam cleared his throat and spoke as calmly as he could.

“Really. This feels nice.”

"It does," Crowley replied, drawing slow trails down Sam's back. His palms came to rest on the hunter's sides. "You feel VERY nice, I must say. Have you ever had a massage before?"

There he went again — right back to his usual tone and confidence, as if nothing had ever happened. Maybe Sam wasn't the only one trying to enjoy their weekend knowing that it was about to all fall to pieces.

“Jess and I went to a place once. It was really bad. The guy didn’t want to touch me. It was for a college class, though, so it was free.” Sam turned his head to try and see Dean. Wherever his brother was, he was probably just as awkward as that college guy had been.

"That would be a no, then, you've never REALLY had a massage," Crowley remarked drolly, making little circles with his thumbs in the middle of Sam's shoulders. That actually did feel really nice.

At the same time he was noticing that, Sam was also just catching sight of Dean and Castiel across the room. He was surprised to see that the the angel was the one laying down on the table, and Dean looked to actually know how to give a pretty good back massage.

Dean was also red-faced and noticeably trying to avoid actually looking at Cas while touching him, so the comparison to the college guy wasn't ENTIRELY off-base.

It was a very funny sight, and Sam wanted to laugh. The heavy feeling in his chest kept him from doing so. He settled his face back against the pillow and closed his eyes again. Dean was distracted. All Sam had to do was lay there and enjoy himself. Why was that so hard to do?


	9. For Sammy

It was all for Sam's sake. That was the mantra Dean kept repeating in his head – that it was to protect Sam, and that it would, eventually, mercifully, be over.

If he stopped focusing on those two thoughts for even a second, he would be confronted with the fact that he had Cas laid out half-naked on a table in front of him, that his hands were covered in hot oil that smelled good enough to eat, and that he was not only allowed to, but ENCOURAGED to put said hands all over his angel buddy's perfectly sculpted muscles.

That last part was a requirement, actually. Dean was doing his absolute best to stick to massaging Cas's neck and shoulders and to not think of the only other non-violent situations in his life where he'd touched anybody with hot slippery liquids involved.

Nope, even reminding himself not to think that last thought had been thinking about it too much. 

PROTECT SAM, he hollered at himself inwardly, looking at anywhere but Castiel's naked back shining with chocolate-scented oil.

No no no – SAM. Sam and demons, demons and Sam! Sam...over there getting oiled up BY a demon. 

Okay, that actually helped as a thing to think about that was a turn-off...

How the hell was he going to survive a whole hour of this?

“Dean? Is everything alright?” Cas mumbled back over his shoulder, brilliantly blue eyes peering up at Dean. 

“Hey guys, how’s it going?” The instructor asked, appearing at Dean’s side like some creepy cheerful apparition. “Neck and shoulders are a great starter spot, but let’s switch our focus down to the lower back. Right above the hip bones.” The man hovered his hands over the angel’s lower back and turned to Dean with a big smile. “You want to use your thumbs and really get the tension out of the upper glutes!” 

Dean had already practically flinched when Cas suddenly looked at him – the instructor's arrival just made him freeze up in tense place, like a statue. Sam, he reminded himself as he slid his hands down Cas's shoulders and back as slowly as humanly possible.

The mantras about Sam and how sometime soon this would be over were not helping, though. “Upper glutes” meant something to do with butts. Dean had to very, VERY carefully phrase that thought so that it didn’t come out as “butt stuff.” God help him. Maybe he could pretend the glutes in question were REALLY upper...upper-er...and get away with just touching Cas's waist.

In order to avoid actually laying hands on angel ass, though, Dean was forced to look where he was touching. And Cas's back was...damn. And his waist...hot damn. And that part where waist met hips and dipped down into the back of Dean's worn, borrowed jeans, where a trickle of the hot oil had managed to flow down and make everything SHINY...?

God damn it.

The mantras had failed him. He could tell before he even placed his hands on Cas's sides and started massaging his lower back. Since angel senses could apparently pick up boners like some sort of pervy radar, he wasn't sure how he was going to explain this to Cas later. At least he wouldn't think Dean was turned on by thinking about Crowley and his own brother this time.

Why was THAT the most comforting thought he could muster?

“Perfect,” the instructor said happily, ducking away as fast as he had appeared. 

Cas shifted under Dean’s hands, glancing back at him again. Was he…blushing? The angel stared at Dean for a long moment before laying down again. 

“You can stop if it’s making you uncomfortable,” he murmured just loudly enough for Dean to hear. 

Uncomfortable? Uncomfortable had come and gone a long time ago. Dean managed a tiny, sputtery laugh, using his thumbs to massage out non-existent tension in the oiled muscles beneath them. Cas felt warm to the touch – not just the oil, his skin too. He was warm and touchable and just...perfect.

The absurdity of the entire situation hit Dean over the head, and he puffed out a few more tiny laughs before biting his lip to keep quiet. He'd already embarrassed himself, what else could go wrong? May as well give Cas a nice massage.

“Dean,” Cas slipped a hand back and caught one of Dean’s wrists as he shifted to look at him yet again. “Would you like to change places? Perhaps laying down will help with your…condition.”

Dean absolutely could not look Cas in the eye right now, and focused intently on the hand on his wrist instead. His face felt hot. Who was he kidding? His everything felt hot. His "condition" was so obvious to Cas it was probably like he was standing there naked. Oh God, not a helpful thought.

"Nah," he managed finally, mustering a slightly sheepish smile. It occurred to him that maybe he was making Cas uncomfortable, touching him and getting "conditions", so he cleared his throat and added awkwardly, "Uh, unless YOU'RE uncomfortable. Then, sure, let's switch."

Cas thought for a moment and then nodded. The angel got up, muscles glistening with the motion. He stood at the ready and made no effort to put his shirt back on. Then he gestured to the massage table.

Dean felt his stomach drop a little at that reaction. Cas...so...Cas was saying he WAS uncomfortable? He didn't seem at all uncomfortable.

This whole trip was a mistake, Dean thought, sucking in a deep breath and pulling his T-shirt off over his head a little too hastily. He only remembered the oil on his hands after getting it all over the shirt. Oh, well. There were so many other things to worry about more than that right now...

He should've played sick at breakfast, he thought as he crawled onto the massage table and settled onto his stomach (not the most comfortable thing ever right this moment), burying his face in the silk pillow. He could've spied on Sam and Crowley through a window with binoculars like a TRADITIONAL creepy stalker, damn it.

What was he going to say to Cas after this? How were they going to stay here together the rest of the friggin' weekend...?

After what felt like a literal minute, hands came to rest on his shoulder blades. Cas ran the tips of his thumbs along the curve of the bone, leaving a hot trail of oil behind. Then his hands were moving lower, his grip getting stronger as he rubbed his thumbs into a tense spot along Dean’s spine. 

“Sam looks upset,” Castiel whispered as he leaned closer. 

It was probably easy to find a tense spot on Dean's back – he was pretty sure his entire back qualified as tense right now. The mantra about Sam and demons popped to mind the moment Cas spoke, though.

Dean turned his head to peek over the pillow. He knew which table Sam was at, of course. Why was he upset, though? From how Cas described what he was hearing last night, Sam and Crowley's relationship couldn't be in THAT much trouble.

Cas slid his hands up Dean’s back, pausing to knead the muscles just below his shoulders. The hot oil and the angel’s hands felt sinfully good. The feeling was interrupted by seeing Sam. 

His brother was laying there with his head propped up on his arms, wearing that sad kicked puppy look. There was no way Crowley was bad at massages. It had to be something more serious. 

For the first time, Dean considered that maybe Sam had the wrong idea about why he was there. Though Dean had quickly switched from wishing Sam and Crowley would break up to guarding both of them from Betty and any other threats, maybe SAM thought he still wanted to scare Crowley off.

Suddenly worries about Cas seemed selfish. Gee, Dean had to spend the weekend being fake boyfriends with his hot as hell angel buddy – how TERRIBLE. Yeah, he had it so rough. Meanwhile Sam probably thought he would celebrate if Sam and Crowley broke up.

Dean's actual top priority, besides keeping Sam from getting dead, was keeping Sam from being unhappy.

"Maybe I should talk to him," he mumbled, knowing Cas could hear it just fine. Angel hearing was awesome. So were Cas’s hands, but he was trying desperately not to think about that right now.

“That might be best.” Cas made firm circles down Dean’s back. Lower and lower. The brush of the angel’s fingertips on his hips was alarming, but thankfully he paused there.

Dean squirmed a little before the pause, and let out the breath he was holding after it. This was frustrating and embarrassing and he felt transparent to Cas. And the more transparent he felt, the more he wanted to hide.

He couldn't really look away from Sam across the room, either, looking so sad. If his meddling had caused that, he'd really screwed up on just about all fronts this time. 

Yeah, they had to talk.  


* * *

  
All the gorgeous breakfast food was gone. It had been replaced by a rainbow of sandwiches, curly fries, fluffy green salads and fruit platters. 

Then there was a desert table. 

Castiel walked at Dean’s side, holding his hand loosely and keeping an eye on the people around them. His hands were still warm from rubbing the hot oil onto Dean’s back. 

Dean tried his absolute best not to think about that again. He'd sprinted into the restroom after the class to deal with his "situation" before anybody but Cas could notice. Like Cas noticing wasn't already mortifying enough.

Sam, he reminded himself, scanning the room for his brother. A little time not touching Cas was probably good just about now.

Sam was hovering unhappily by the salad bar. He was holding a huge plate of leafy greens, slowly adding fixings as he spaced out. 

“S’cuse me,” A dark haired woman shoved past Cas, a hand at her cheek as she cried. It was Victoria, the emotionless robot girlfriend. 

Castiel watched her as she sped off back towards the ladies room. The angel’s grip tightened a bit around Dean’s hand, though he didn’t comment. 

Dean glanced after her and frowned. He had been too...distracted...to check for Betty and Victoria during the massage class. Were they having a fight?

It seemed like a really big coincidence for Betty and Crowley, the two demons, to BOTH have relationship issues at once. They had better not be related.

"Cas," he said under his breath, glancing back over at Sam by the salad bar. "Can you distract Crowley for me? Gotta talk to Sam."

“Betty is nearby. Be careful,” Cas whispered against Dean’s cheek, taking a sudden turn to cross the room. Sam had apparently gone to get a salad to get away from his date, who was seated at the same far corner table they’d been at yesterday.

Dean watched Cas stroll off, like whispering so close Dean could FEEL his lips on his cheek wasn't intentional. God damn it, he was in trouble.

Feeling flustered and frustrated, Dean turned and marched over to Sam, scowling.

"Sam, we've gotta talk." He didn't mean to look pissed, but looking pissed was his default way to NOT look too soft or easy to read. If his voice came out kind of strained, that was better than fumbling and blushing. Probably.

“About what?” Sam grumbled back, dropping a handful of cashews on top of his salad. He glanced at Dean and scowled. “About you sneaking around outside our cabin last night?”

Casting what he hoped was a subtle glance over at Cas and Crowley, Dean huffed and stuck both hands into his pockets.

"Depends on if that's what's rainin' on your parade. I've never seen somebody look that miserable in the middle of a back massage, and don't try and tell me Crowley's bad at those," he muttered.

“It’s none of your business.” His brother turned on his heel and retreated to the drink table.

Dean sighed and stepped quickly after him.

"CROWLEY might not be, but you are," he whispered grumpily. "I gotta look out for you, and if somebody's bothering you, I wanna deal with it. Even if that somebody's me," he added, turning abruptly to focus on the drinks.

He was pretty sure that was it — spying on Sam and Crowley was pissing Crowley off or something, and Sam got to deal with the problems it made. Dean wasn't out to break them up, but who else knew that besides Cas, really?

Sam stepped around to glare down at him. He clenched his jaw and exhaled sharply, working up to actually saying anything. 

“Just leave us alone. I don’t need you trying to ruin this weekend. There’s enough crap going on without YOU involved.” He kept his voice low, glancing to make sure Crowley was still seated. 

Dean blinked.

"What, wait? I'M not the crap that's going on?" He asked. Okay, bad choice of words, but…

“No.” Sam’s scowl shifted as he suddenly looked sadly across the room. He dropped his gaze to his salad, regaining his composure. “…Are you really with Cas?”

Dean opened his mouth to reply, then shut it again. Damn his cheeks for heating up. Sam hadn't asked anything remotely about the massage class, but of course that's what had instantly sprung to mind...bad choice of words...when Cas came up...shit, more bad bad words...

Dean was pretty sure he wasn't going to survive this weekend.


	10. Smooth

Realizing that he'd been standing there silently blushing, Dean cleared his throat and turned to the drink table. The lunch menu had all manner of sodas and sparkling waters and the bar was open, too. Whiskey sounded good about now...

"We're just...here...together, he replied cryptically at last, cringing. That didn't sound convincing even to himself.

“Wow,” Sam said honestly. “Huh.” He grabbed a glass of red wine from the man at the end of the table and started very slowly back across the room.

"Wait, wait..." Dean hurried after him, swallowing his pride. "L-look, I just — I'm not here to rain on your parade. So if what's bugging you is me, just..."

They were getting too close to the table to keep whispering and think Cas and Crowley couldn't hear them. Dean shot Sam what he hoped was a meaningful look and did a U-turn, heading for the drink table again. Sam was smart, he'd figure out where that sentence had been headed.

“Dean, wait,” Sam hurried after him and caught his arm with a hand, balancing his wine and salad on one arm.

Dean stopped in his tracks, glancing back at the hand on his arm. He sighed and turned around, squaring his shoulders. He wasn't sure what to add to the conversation at this point, though, and did just wait for Sam to speak up.

“You guys look good together.” His giant little brother smiled sadly down at him, then headed off to join Crowley. 

And Cas. The dark haired angel was sitting across the table from Crowley, speaking very sternly to him about something.

Dean stared after him, feeling his cheeks start to warm again. Even Sam could tell, damn it. The conversation at the table looked pretty serious. What exactly did Cas have to lecture Crowley about?

Reluctantly, Dean gave up on getting alcohol from the bar and followed Sam to the table. Not to eavesdrop, he told himself, to collect Cas. Of course.

Castiel got up as Sam reached the table. 

“Good morning Sam.” 

“Morning Cas.” Sam took a seat on the same side as Crowley and sat down his plate. He pressed a quick kiss to the demon’s cheek, turning back to his food and carefully wearing a smile. “How was massage class?” 

“Dean was very…tense.” 

“I’ll bet,” Sam mumbled as he took a bite of his salad. 

"Sorta looked like I wasn't the only one," Dean grumbled, crossing his arms. "C'mon, Cas, I'm sure they didn't come here to double date."

He realized Sam had sat down with Crowley and left the other side of the table open, but eating lunch together? Talk about awkward. Especially if Sam was going to be scrutinizing how he acted around Cas now.

Crowley looked like the cat that ate the canary. Just what the hell had Cas been telling him? Maybe Sam was the least of his worries.

Stepping up to Dean’s side, Cas slipped under his arm like he belonged there. A hand pressed against Dean’s hip as the angel guided him away from the table.

“There are tables by the pool.”

Dean tried to play it cool and brushed his fingers over Cas's arm where his hand was now resting.

"Awesome. Hey, I was gonna get a drink real quick..."  


* * *

  
Large bodies of water held a lot of memories for Sam. Most of them were bad. Ghost ships, drowned spirits of kids. The only good memory that came to mind about the water was when he and Dean took a few days to visit the beach. Sure, they were stressed about a lot of things, but sharing a beer and laying back in the sun with Dean had been a nice change.

Sam watched as a couple pushed their canoe out, laughing excitedly at the prospect of being out on the water alone. Being alone with Crowley was making Sam’s stomach tight. All he was going to remember about the lake was trying to hide how much losing Crowley was going to hurt. 

"Darling, you're the strapping one. Come help me with this canoe?" Speaking of the demon, he seemed to be amusing himself pretending he couldn't lift the canoe — or send people flying across rooms, or snap his fingers and snap necks, for that matter.

Crowley wasn't usually the type to get his hands dirty, but he didn't really try to hide being a demon often. Was it weird to pretend to be human?

“Yeah, I can get it.” Sam went over to help. The canoe wasn’t that heavy, so he moved it over to the edge of the water by himself. He waded out up to his knees to get the canoe deep enough so that it floated. The water wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t warm either. He glanced over at Crowley. “I don’t know if I want to do the race. I feel like I’d tip the boat the second we started moving too fast.” 

Crowley looked handsome in his slacks and sporty jacket. It was still downright odd to see the demon go a day without wearing a tie, but the all-black part was a consistent thing with his outfits. He stepped up to the edge of the water and raised his eyebrows at Sam's comment.

"We could just paddle out to the middle and watch everybody else make fools of themselves," he suggested mildly, shrugging. "Dean and Feathers ought to put on a good show."

“So, get this,” Sam waved for Crowley to climb into the boat. “I think they’re actually dating. I asked Dean about it and his face turned red.”

Crowley looked down at the water lapping the shore, visibly exasperated that he couldn't just teleport himself to his seat in the canoe. He took a step closer and held out a hand for Sam to take.

"That's Dean's story, anyway. Feathers seems the same as always, besides wearing your brother's clothes everywhere."

Sam was so surprised that he missed Crowley's hand when he reached for it the first time. He took it and guided Crowley into his seat. The King of Hell was still making an effort to look like a normal couple. 

“Cas was getting pretty handsy in class.” Sam climbed into the canoe and pushed them off, laying the oars across the boat between them. “I kinda feel bad for Dean if it’s all him.” 

"Oh, yes, poor Dean," Crowley replied dryly, picking up an oar. He waited until Sam looked settled into his seat before casually dipping the flat end into the water and paddling a few times. As effortless as it looked, the canoe went gliding out across the lake with a surprisingly amount of momentum.

If there was one thing Sam hadn't thought he'd ever do with Crowley, it was go on a leisurely canoe ride. He reached and placed a hand on the demon’s to stop him from rowing. After that helpless display, he had forgotten for a second how strong Crowley really was. It wouldn’t be fair to be in the canoe race. It seemed like they were forced to paddle around and enjoy each other’s company. 

“Sorry I’ve been so grouchy. This is a really awesome trip.” 

Crowley stopped and let the oar drag in the water, drifting them in a slow lazy circle. He took Sam's hand with his other one and lifted it, kissing it softly.

"Thought I'd have you all to myself a little more, but it's still lovely here."

For some reason, the demon’s words hurt. It was an off-handed comment, but Sam was struck by how true it was. He had done exactly what he had wanted to avoid doing. He had wasted the first day and a half of their weekend worrying about Dean and breaking up and the future — all things that he didn’t have to face until they were headed home.

Sam scooted to the edge of his seat to lean closer and kiss Crowley. The boat threatened to capsize, though, and Sam snapped a hand out to grab the edge, leaning the other way quickly to balance it out. 

Smooth. 

Crowley glanced sideways, nonplussed as both oars rolled overboard with a plunk into the water. He didn't even try to catch them. They floated there beside the boat.

Turning back to Sam, the demon smirked. 

"Aww, is someone afraid to rock the boat?"

“I just…don’t have great memories about water,” Sam admitted, keeping his grip on the boat. He pressed a kiss to Crowley’s cheek and put his free arm around him. “I’d like to have some better ones.”

Crowley scooted off of his seat in the canoe and over closer to Sam. There already was so little space that Sam's knees were crowding toward his chest. Having a handsome demon sitting between said knees made it a lot tougher to concentrate on not tipping over the canoe.

Offering no apology, Crowley wrapped an arm around Sam's waist and leaned against his chest.

"Can't remember the last time I was in a canoe. Maybe never," he mused.

“Yeah. Me neither.” Sam dared to let go of the the edge of the boat and wrapped both of his arms around Crowley. He couldn’t help a happy sigh. Holding the demon always made him realize how perfectly he fit there. If there was a perfect size for hugging, Crowley was it. At least for Sam. The brunette smiled at the silly thought and sat his chin on top of Crowley’s head. 

Why’d stupid Betty have to bring up engagements and nonsense real life stuff? 

A little breeze was blowing over the lake, ruffling their hair. Crowley's floofed on top, and he seemed content not to care. It was strangely endearing to see him disheveled when he was usually so well-dressed and put together.

Down the beach, one of the retreat instructors was shouting out instructions at the small fleet of couples in canoes gathered over there. The guy had an actual megaphone and sounded like a sports announcer.

So much for peace and quiet.

Shifting again to try not to flip the boat, Sam looked over the couples to see if Dean and Cas were in there. Castiel had super strength, too. It wouldn’t be a fair race.

Sure enough, Dean and Cas were among the couples in the canoe race ranks. Sam's brother looked pretty exhausted, though, and kept hiding yawns with his hand as they listened to the instructor read off the rules.

Maybe they thought it would look strange not to participate.

“Here, let’s lay down.” Sam slipped off his seat and leaned against it as he settled into the bottom of the boat. It felt more steady anyways. He held open arms up to Crowley. “I have a feeling we’re not going to do much rowing.”

"Didn't plan on it," Crowley purred, happily draping himself across Sam's chest. He hugged an arm around the hunter's waist and nestled his face in the crook of Sam's neck and shoulder, and Sam could feel the contented sigh. "…Someday soon I'm going to miss this."

“Me too.” Sam ran a hand over the demon’s back slowly. He was lucky to have any peaceful moments with the type of life he led. And someone to share them with. Sam lifted the demon’s chin and kissed him softly. Maybe tonight would go better than last night?

After talking to Dean, he had a feeling they wouldn't be spied on this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I drew a [Mooseley canoe pic](http://threshasketch.tumblr.com/post/174586143088/in-tomorrows-chapter-of-trust-exercises-the) for this chapter...


	11. Cabin Fever

The race had been a piece of cake with Cas in the boat, despite Dean being so tired from their escapades the night before. After breezing past the victory buoys, they were handed two colored rocks and left to paddle around the lake with the other couples. 

Betty and Victoria weren’t in the race and neither was Sam. He and Crowley were drifting lazily around in their canoe. They hadn’t even watched the race. They were too busy cuddling. 

Cas paddled slowly now, sending them gliding across the beautiful lake. He glanced to check on Sam as well and frowned. 

“Sam still looks sad,” he commented as he paddled. “I believe he and Crowley are having ‘problems.’ Crowley wasn’t interested in talking about it.” 

"Yeah...Sam acted like I wasn't the only bee in his bonnet, too." Dean smothered another yawn behind his hand, trying to focus on the angel's back and shoulders in his slightly-too-tight borrowed T-shirt.

Even that was getting tough. In retrospect, coffee at lunch would have been smarter than a shot of whiskey, considering how little he'd slept the night before.

Damn he'd needed that whiskey, though.

Cas stopped rowing and sat the oar aside. He rotated carefully on his seat, turning to face Dean. The angel stared at him for a long moment, eyes narrowing. He glanced off at Sam and Crowley again. 

Dean wondered what he was thinking, but he was too tired to feel that scrutinized. Led Zeppelin's logo looked damned good on Cas's chest – like he was a superhero.

He sort of was. Nobody could prove Superman didn't use his senses for pervy reasons from time to time.

Was it just him, or was the Zeppelin logo getting bigger? Damn he needed sleep. It was the middle of the frigging day, though, and he was an adult, not some tuckered out kindergartener...

That last thought arrived about two seconds before the Zeppelin logo was pressing against his cheek. Felt even better on Cas than it looked.

The angel’s arms wrapped around him. The scent of Cas nearby and the sound of footsteps mixed together in Dean’s mind. A whisper brushed against his cheek. 

“I’m sorry. Shh. Go back to sleep.” 

Soft, warm blankets came to rest over Dean’s shoulders as he became aware that he was being laid into a bed. 

What the hell happened to the boat? 

"Huh... Cas?" Dean pushed the covers down off of his arms, reaching for the angel. They were in their cabin. Since when had he even fallen asleep? Was this a dream, then?

Cas caught Dean in his arms, dropping down to sit on the bed beside him. He ran a hand down the other man’s back and pushed him back gently into the plush white pillows, shushing him again and staring down at him as he spoke. His eyes looked so blue, even with the lights in the cabin off. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I was concerned we would tip the canoe if we stayed in it.” 

Dean stared up at him, only half processing what he was saying. He'd fallen asleep in the canoe? Okay, sure, that made sense. But he'd blinked and gone from the canoe seat to Cas just...holding him in his arms and laying him down with care like this, and whispering to him. In a BED.

The only light streamed in from the cabin windows, glinting off of the angel’s dark hair and making his eyes shine. His face was just an inch or two away, and he was still leaned over Dean — probably because Dean still had both arms hugged around him. 

It was too perfect. Was Dean really supposed to think this wasn’t a dream?

“Dean?” Castiel asked quietly, a soft frown painting his features. He slipped his hands up to rest on Dean’s arms. His touch was warm. It made Dean shiver. “…Are you sleeping with your eyes open?” 

And just like that, the spell was broken. If this was a dream then Dean wouldn't be suddenly feeling flushed from head to toe...especially in the toes direction...and frozen at the same time.

He couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't weird and just awkward as hell, so he let go of Cas and sank back into the bed, turning his head to the side.

Between this and the massage class, it was a wonder Cas could still look him in the eye. 

As if things weren’t bad enough, Dean’s heart jumped to his chest as he heard the sound of a zipper. He actually flinched, gaze snapping back to Cas's face.

"Wh-what're you doing?" That came out a lot smaller than he'd hoped, and even he wasn't sure if he sounded alarmed or hopeful. His heart was hammering loud enough to drown himself out anyway.

Cas froze in place, his thumbs caught under the waistline of his jeans that were down around his hips. He looked away as his cheeks flushed, and hurriedly zipped his fly back up. 

“I was changing clothes. The legs of my pants got wet when I carried you out of the boat. I’ll wait. I’m sorry — I… I’m sorry.” 

The angel turned stiffly in place to face the far cabin wall. It had a painting of a salmon on it. 

Fitting, Dean though miserably – something swimming upstream face-first into the current. That basically summed up these ridiculous feelings for Cas.

His angel buddy was only blushing because Dean was making him uncomfortable, he was sure. Cas could sense longing and hear heart rates increase and freaking just KNOW if somebody had a hard-on for him, so the fact that he still hadn't made a move settled it: he must just plain not be interested. Not in Dean, at least.

"Oh, uh...no, go for it," he told Cas awkwardly, settling back in bed and pulling the blankets back up to his chest. "I'm just gonna go back to sleep, and hey, it's your cabin too, right?"

He cleared his throat, swallowing the sudden lump in it, and closed his eyes. 

"Good night, or noon, or whatever."

He made a point to take several long, slow breaths and try to relax into the pillow. Not a chance in hell he was actually even remotely sleepy now. Tired, yes, but wiiiide awake after this conversation. And he felt way too hot under the blankets, but he stubbornly kept them on anyway.

The angel quietly changed his pants. The sound of the zipper was still annoyingly loud over the sound of Dean's heartbeat. Then he felt Castiel lay down on the other half of the bed, scooting close enough that Dean could feel him sigh. He must have been able to tell that Dean wasn’t falling asleep, because he started talking. 

“I spoke with Betty briefly after lunch. It seems that she and Victoria are no longer engaged.” 

Dean felt like staying “asleep” and not having to talk, but that was basically just ignoring Cas with fake snoring involved, so he sighed and looked up at the ceiling instead.

"Demon Gidget call it off, or Robo Chick?" He asked, just to have something to say. He didn't really care, unless Betty was going to go after Sam and Crowley in revenge or something.

“I’m not sure,” Cas said. He sat up on his elbow to look down at Dean again. “Dean.” He sighed, shifting to sit up against the headboard. “We need to talk.”

As much as he was burning up, Dean hugged the blankets a little closer to his chest. Maybe Cas needed to talk, but he didn't. Didn't want to, either.

What was the point? He knew how this would go, he'd gone over it about a hundred different ways in his head already. If Cas didn't want him, he didn't want to know for a little longer.

"Do we?" He asked quietly, looking at the picture of the salmon across the room. If he was a stupid fish swimming upstream, then Cas was an eagle. Yeah, that was a good fit – had wings, could do things fish couldn't comprehend, and Dean getting scooped up might stab his heart and kill him in the end, but damn it, for a few minutes he'd be able to fly.

“I think Crowley might have feelings for Sam. I wasn’t sure if demons were capable of love, but now…I’m not certain. Whatever he feels, he and Sam are clearly having relationship problems. If our goal is to separate them, we may not need to do anything.” 

Dean had a sinking feeling in his chest. Cas had meant talking about Sam and Crowley. Of course he had – because Dean was the idiot hung up on Cas, not the other way around. God he was hopeless.

He knew he should pretend to care, but he was so far from wanting to meddle in Sam's relationship right now that it wasn't even funny. He should be keeping track of Betty, or telling Cas that they officially weren't trying to break Sam and Crowley up anymore, or...something.

Instead, Dean rolled onto his side to face the wall and hugged the blankets around him tighter. 

"Just want Sammy to be happy," he mumbled. And that wasn't really all he wanted, but he was pretty sure it was the most he was going to get.

A hand landed on Dean’s arm, squeezing firmly. 

“So do I. Sam seemed so happy before we came here. I know it wasn’t our mission to keep them together, but I…I think Crowley loves your brother. Do you believe Sam loves him in return?” 

As warm as Dean felt, Cas's hand on him somehow felt warmer. And despite all of that, he shivered.

"Think he's afraid to," he whispered. Sam was already with Crowley before this retreat, but he seemed conflicted about it now. There was a big difference between a fling and the L-word.

“Dean,” Cas breathed, pressing up against his back. He hand slid off of Dean’s arm to rest against his waist. “There’s something else we have to talk about. I would have brought it up sooner, but I didn’t want to upset you.” 

His touch made Dean shiver, and as nice as it felt, he curled away from it. Here it came. He didn’t want to have this conversation yet.

"Yeah, well, then don't."

The hand on his waist disappeared as Cas moved away. There was blissful silence for about thirty seconds before the angel spoke again. 

“I’m sorry that you’re in love with Crowley too.” There was the smallest waver in his voice as he continued, “I know how it feels to not have your feelings returned…” 

Crowley? Dean wasn't sure which part he was more stunned at – that, or Cas saying he had feelings for somebody. He didn't sound like he was kidding, either.

Like this didn't hurt enough already.

"Okay...FIRST thing..." Shoving the blankets off, Dean rolled over to face the angel. He didn't realize how close Cas had moved until they were suddenly nose to nose, though.

Cursing the heat rising in his face, Dean made his voice as gruff as he could manage.

"I don't love Crowley. CROWLEY, really Cas?" Moving back seemed like losing somehow now, so he stubbornly stayed put.

“I can FEEL your longing, then you recoil. You did it just now when I touched you. If you aren’t in love with Crowley...” Cas swallowed and stared up at the ceiling of the cabin instead of at Dean. “You just aren’t interested in me,” he concluded sadly. 

"I–you–y-you're not..." Dean sputtered, sitting up on both arms. Was he freaking kidding? He could feel longing and all that other crap, and here Dean was feeling practically naked around him, and Cas didn't realize it was all about him?

From Castiel’s perspective, though, maybe it did kind of look like Dean was stuck on Crowley. Dean had been pissy about Sam dating the demon from the start. He’d had been annoyed enough with their relationship to follow them here and spy on them all weekend. The other night Cas had thought Dean was turned on listening to Sam and Crowley in their cabin, and during the massage class Dean had spent a lot of time looking over at their table, and…

Son of a bitch.

Dean wanted to laugh – not at Cas, at himself, at how much of an idiot he'd been this weekend, thinking Cas KNEW, and Cas had had no idea. And Dean, he'd had no idea that Cas...

"YOU'RE interested?" He managed finally, voice cracking in the middle. "I-in me?"

Cas looked at him again, nodding slowly. 

“Yes. I know it seems absurd. Sam laughed too.” He reached a hand out and played with the edge of the covers between them, frowning sadly. 

Abruptly, Sam's sad knowing smile came to mind from earlier that day. 

_“You guys look good together.”_

Dean swallowed hard and mustered courage. This wasn't a dream, he reminded himself. So what if Cas hadn't known – Dean had somehow missed how he felt right back, so who was he to judge? Worst case scenario, they were just both dumbasses.

A couple of dumbasses who were interested in each other. A COUPLE, they were...they could be.

Before he could overthink it, Dean grabbed Cas's hand that was playing with the blankets.

"I'm not laughing."


	12. Ditto

"I'm not laughing."

“Thank you,” Cas said very seriously. “You should sleep. The nature hike is this afternoon, as well as the couples camp out. Selena said there will be s'mores.”

"No, no, Cas..." Dean lifted his hand, held it tightly in both of his. "Cas, look at me." He tilted his head, trying to catch the angel's gaze.

“Selena seemed excited. I’m certain there will be s’mores,” Cas told him, looking him in the eye and squeezing Dean’s hand. “She said there would be a chef.”

Dean's stomach did a little flip flop, and he couldn't stand it another second.

"Shut up. Just...just shut up about the s'mores. You don't get to do that," he said, and damn his voice for sounding a little hoarse. He could do this. He had to do it. No going back now. For once, he hoped Cas noticed how loud his heart was pounding.

“We aren’t going camping?” Cas asked, eyes searching Dean’s. He slipped his other hand over and tucked it under his head. “You’re upset again. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to upset you, Dean.” He squeezed Dean’s hand and sighed, scooting back a bit. 

'Me, too,' Dean wanted to say. That was all he wanted to say, but Cas had to go and change the damned subject, and now no moment seemed like THE moment, and...and this was so stupid.

Cas was right here. He was right here. What the hell was the problem?

In a snap decision, Dean grabbed the collar of Cas's shirt – HIS shirt – and leaned and crashed their lips together. It wasn't a graceful kiss, even hurt a little bit, but Cas's longing meter had to be going off the freaking charts.

Dean let go of him almost immediately, sitting back, looking anywhere but at him. If 'interested in' didn't mean 'drowning in love for', he was gonna kick himself forever.

Cas moved after him, though, hooking an arm around Dean’s neck and pulling him in for another kiss. This one didn’t hurt a bit. He broke away breathlessly to trail several kisses along Dean’s jaw, stopping to catch his gaze again. Those beautiful blue eyes looked a little misty.

Dean stared back, so relieved and amazed and in love that it made him dizzy. None of the times he’d dreamed this even came close to the real thing. Just a couple kisses and he was on fire. He wanted to go back for more, but first he had to make something very clear.

“It’s for you,” he said, sliding his arms around the angel’s waist. “The longing, the…the everything, Cas. It’s for you. Always was.”

“I love you,” Cas whispered, his voice going hoarse with the words. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he leaned in and kissed Dean again. They lay back together into the soft pillows. The angel’s hands brushed over Dean’s sides and up his back. Castiel broke away from the kiss, meeting Dean’s gaze again. 

Dean couldn't stop staring at him. It was already too much to process, getting kissed like THAT, but Cas was crying – like, actually crying. And he'd said 'love.'

Please don't be a dream, Dean thought, scooting closer until he wound up half-laying on Cas's chest. Please, please, please.

He kissed the angel's nose, smiling brightly at him. 

"Me, too. I, uh, I mean, what you said. Ditto."

For some reason, the word 'love' was giving him trouble. It seemed like actually saying it would jinx things and break this whole spell and he'd wake up. He busied himself with kissing the tears away one at a time.

Cas pulled Dean on top of him, though, burying his face in the brunette’s neck. The words only seemed to make him more upset. He finally managed a few words after a moment of crying. 

“Thank you, Dean.” He sat back and stared up at the hunter, blue eyes glinting with tears. “Sam told me that I should tell you, but I was afraid…” He trailed off, swallowing hard, and took a breath. “After so many years, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing your friendship.” 

Dean blinked and studied the sad gaze looking up at him. Screw it, he thought. It wasn't like he was the only one who was scared.

"Cas." 

He considered going for another kiss, but ended up just settling down to rest his head close to Cas's, close enough to press a cheek to his. The tears were warm. Dean reached for one of Cas’s hands and laced their fingers, nuzzling his face up against the angel's. 

"Love you, too, man. For...YEARS now," he admitted, blushing.

Cas turned his head to brush his lips over Dean’s cheek.

“…Ditto.”

Dean turned his head, too, and kissed the angel softly. HIS angel. 

He felt dizzy again. Giddy. In love.

"Let's skip the nature hike," he suggested, tracing a little circle on Cas’s chest with his free hand. "Stay in."

He felt a nod as the angel placed his other hand over Dean’s on his chest.

“I agree, but can we still do the camp out? Selena believes we are not happy and I want to prove her wrong.” The angel leaned in and kissed Dean softly, smiling. “I want to make you a s’more.” 

Dean was feeling pretty toasty, himself, right now. Ignoring the butterflies in his stomach, he offered a small grin in return.

"Oh, I want you to, too."  


* * *

  
"Spiderwort," Crowley commented, strolling past a little purple flower on the side of the trail. He paused, brows raising. "Ooh, bluebells. And violets. Look at these violets, Moose."

Their canoe time must have made a good impression on the King of Hell, because he had been so cheery on the hike so far that Sam was starting to get annoyed with him.

“Pretty,” Sam commented offhandedly. All the talk of flowers had started to blend together over the hour. Victoria and Betty were walking just ahead of them and they seemed like they were having a fight. The tiny blond woman would try to talk to her fiance only to get a cold shoulder and a calculated smile. 

It reminded Sam of how HE had been acting – putting on a smile while he watched the end grow near. It was enough to make him want to leave. But Crowley was there, and he deserved one last nice weekend with Sam. Even if Sam was just pretending to be happy. 

Crowley placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm serious, come and look." He glanced ahead at the two women, adding drolly, "Or at least stop walking a moment. We need to talk."

“About what? Violets and bluebells?” Sam asked casually, covering the flutter of nervousness in his stomach by kissing the demon’s cheek. 

"Nothing so simple and bright," Crowley replied, crossing his arms. He leaned to be sure the two women had walked further up the trail before focusing on Sam again. "What are we even doing here?"

Sam turned a little and jerked a thumb at his backpack. 

“Nature hike, then a camp out. Selena says there’ll be s’mores.” Sam knew damn well that was a selling point. Crowley was a fan of sweet fruity drinks. It wouldn’t surprise Sam if he liked marshmallows and chocolate. Who wouldn’t? 

The demon gave him a pointed look, though, and shook his head.

"No, Moose. I mean what are we DOING here?" He waved at the scenic, wildflower-ridden path around them, scowling. "You're not happy. You're hardly even PRESENT, and you haven't been half the weekend. I thought it was your brother's fault at first, but he's not here, and he wasn't at the hammocks, either. You're unhappy anyway."

Sam’s heart sank in his chest and he moved close enough to take Crowley’s hand in his. Why did this have to happen now? Why couldn’t they have one more day together? He squeezed the demon’s hand gently and sighed. 

“I can’t stop thinking about what’s gonna happen to us down the road. In a few weeks. In a few months. We can’t be anything more than this.” 

"No. Of course not," Crowley replied bitterly. He didn't pull his hand away, but he didn't really hold Sam's hand in return, either. "Demons are good for a fun time, but nothing SERIOUS, is that it? You knew what you were getting tangled in when we started this."

“What?” Sam asked, frowning. He let go of Crowley’s hand. “I’m not the only one who’s ignoring the facts, here. A Winchester and a demon? We’ve got the entire world against us, not just Dean and Cas! The only future I see for us is when you get bored with me and leave me. I’ve been waking up to that reality every day since I realized that I loved you!” 

He turned and paced away, trying to cool his temper with a few deep breaths. Why was he getting so worked up about this? He had seen it coming. 

"Love?" Crowley scoffed, stepping after him. "Well I'm terribly sorry your 'love' bothers you so much, darling."

The pet name was more of a sarcastic remark now.

"The bloody world has nothing to do with this! This is about YOU and how you can't trust me. Can't trust a demon, right, Samantha? Can't trust a THING like me. Well, you're right, at this rate we'll never amount to anything."

“I trust you to be yourself,” Sam snapped, taking a step back. “You might be a demon, but you were Crowley to me first. Self-serving and cruel. I believed you when you said you deserved love, though. I did. Honest to God. I’ve seen how you’ve changed over the years. You were human, then you were a demon — but you’re something else now.” 

Sam felt a lump forming in his throat as his anger faded to be replaced with that heavy pain in his chest. “Everything you’ve done, the good and the bad, it’s made you who you are. Just like me. Being human and demon isn’t the issue here.” 

"Then what is?" Crowley challenged, staring at him. He held out his hands. "I'll tell you, Sam. It's you. You said I'd get bored and abandon you – not 'if', a sure thing. Apparently I've got no say in the matter."

“Do you have anything to say?” Sam shook his head, eyebrows pinching sadly. “So far, you've seemed happy to just play along. I can’t do that. It might be how Dean works, but it’s not how I work. I can’t stop thinking about a future together. What am I going to do when I die for good?” Sam took a step back closer. “You won’t be wherever I end up — you’ll never be. You’re immortal.” 

Crowley scoffed. 

"You don't even want to discuss a serious relationship, and you're talking about eternity together? What do you think this is, Romeo and Juliet?" He crossed his arms, arching a brow. "You sound awfully confident you'll wind up in Heaven, too. For all you know, you'll go straight to Hell and then you'll have more than enough of me."

Sam nodded slowly. 

“That was the best case scenario. I…I need to do something really bad.” 

Crowley looked at him for a long moment. Then he stepped closer, lowering his voice like the violets and bluebells might overhear.

"You mean like sell your soul?" More bitterly, he added, "Or have a sordid fling with the King of Hell, perhaps?"

“What I mean is...” Sam lowered his voice too. Just on the off chance that Dean and Cas were sneaking around again. “Don’t ask me for anything else. I’m not going to take a vow in front of God anytime soon. There’s no end game for us — there’s no point in vows.” Sam straightened his shoulders and brushed past Crowley to continue up the path. 

Crowley's footsteps started after him immediately, but they didn't sound particularly hurried.

"You're right," he said, and being agreed with had never sounded so awful. There wasn't even any anger behind it – Crowley was actually agreeing with him. "We've got a whole lot of nothing waiting for us ahead. I've got forever, literally. But I've still got you until Monday morning...don't I?"

He'd come to the same conclusion, then. After this weekend, that was it.

Sam turned on his heel and came back to Crowley, wrapping the shorter man in a hug. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t manage to speak. 

Of course. He wasn’t the only one who’d be alone for eternity. They both would be.


	13. Sticks

Selena had led the group of happy campers out around the edge of the lake to a peaceful campground with a big bonfire pit. 

It would have looked more like a traditional campsite if there wasn’t a clean white building peeking out of the tree line. That was where all the bartenders and cooks were at. 

Cas stayed at Dean’s side as dutifully as ever, but this time it was for real. The angel was unbothered by the fact that Dean had promptly fallen asleep on top of him after their confessions in the cabin. 

Despite falling asleep for a few hours, Dean was still in a happy cloud. He'd been pining away for Cas for YEARS thinking it was one-sided, and suddenly they could hold hands, and kiss, and not just to infiltrate this stupid, ridiculous, wonderful couples retreat that had finally gotten them to talk to each other.

It was real, and very surreal, and he was so damned happy he almost forgot to look for Sam and Crowley at the campsite.

“Like, oh my GAWD!” Betty bounced over to them, her chest threatening to tear free of her tiny tank top. “Somebody’s been playing hooky!” She winked and prodded Castiel’s chest with a neon pink painted nail. 

“Dean was tired.” 

“Oh, I’ll bet he was!” She giggled, throwing a wink at Dean. She leaned up and whispered to Cas for a moment, and the angel frowned. 

“I see.” 

Cas stepped closer to Dean, laying a muscular arm over the brunette’s shoulders. He glanced around and dropped his voice to a whisper. 

“She saw Crowley and Sam fighting in the woods earlier.” 

Dean was struggling not to be distracted by the arm around him. By Cas in general, actually. He was here for Sam, he reminded himself, coming back down to earth a bit and frowning.

"Fighting like...break up fighting?" He sat up and looked around the campground for any sign of his brother or the demon. Damn it, if Crowley had broken Sammy's heart, he was going to regret it.

He finally spotted Sam and Crowley a few tents down from them around the bonfire pit. His giant little brother was looking very bothered while he listened to Selena explain something. 

The petite woman patted Sam’s arm as she left. As she walked away, Dean caught her shaking her head in exasperation. 

“They’re both here, so I would assume not.” Cas pressed a kiss to Dean’s temple before letting him go. “I’ll ask Sam.” 

The little kiss was enough to make Dean's face heat up. Cas was just as matter-of-fact with his PDA as he was with everything else. Dean would have plenty of time to enjoy it after this weekend, though. Right now he had to think about Sam.

Hopping to his feet, he said quickly, "I've got Sam covered. Crowley talked to you earlier — think he'd talk to you about the fight?"

Cas stopped and thought it over, turning back to Dean with a nod. 

“Crowley is suspicious. I’m not sure that he’ll tell me anything, but I’ll try.” 

The angel turned and walked off, dodging past Selena as she made her way to where Dean was. She tried to talk to Cas in passing, but he brushed her off politely and walked on. 

The brunette woman came over to Dean, a little frown on her face. She put on a smile as she came closer, though.

“Hi Dean. I hope everything’s going good. I just wanted to let you know that dinner will be served at six and if there’s anything special you want for your sweetie, you just let us know. Okay?” She offered him a postcard-sized note with all the same information on it. 

Dean accepted the card, smiling brightly at her. 

"Thanks. We're really looking forward to the s'mores part of this thing."

He glanced quickly to see if Sam was still where he'd been a minute ago. Crowley would need to be alone for Cas to talk to him, anyway — it made sense to get Sam to leave for a bit, and then they could talk in private, too.

His brother was gone. It took Dean a few seconds to spot him lumbering off into the tree line, a stick under his arm. Maybe he was getting firewood? It seemed like the retreat would probably provide it, but maybe Sam was looking for an excuse to be alone for a few minutes. 

Selena’s smile dimmed and she leaned closer, lowing her voice. 

“Honey, is everything okay? Your brother seems really…um…” She hesitated, cringing. “Sad?” 

Dean smiled sheepishly at her. Sam wasn't exactly being subtle about how he felt.

"Oh, yeah, he's just got a lot on his mind. He'll get over it. Excuse me."

With no further explanation, he turned and jogged after Sam into the woods.

In the moment it had taken to speak to Selena, Sam had made it surprisingly far into the trees. He had found a couple more sticks and tucked them under his arm, though he was still poking absently through the forest floor for more. He glanced up when he heard Dean arrive and pulled on a very hollow smile. 

“Hey. Ready to go home yet?” Judging by the thin smile and sad dewy eyes, he sure as hell was. 

Instead of answering the question, Dean stepped over and started poking around for sticks, too, picking one up.

"These people have probably never been on a real camp-out in their lives. I'm not even sure they have bugs here," he said drolly.

“No, they do. I saw a beetle earlier,” Sam replied mildly, continuing his search for sticks too. He shifted his bundle to hold them against his chest and sighed. “We should go camping again. Just the two of us.” 

Dean glanced back the way they'd come, then stepped over to snag a stick out from the edge of some brush.

"You mean just for fun?" As many times as the two of them had gone camping from childhood onward, it was usually while hunting something. There were a few hunts where Dean had tried to make the most of it and pretend they were camping for fun, but that hardly counted. "Won't Cas and Crowley feel left-out?"

Sam’s eyes dropped to the ground and he shrugged a shoulder, going back to picking through the brush for sticks. 

“…Crowley and I aren’t a thing after this weekend. We’ve decided to call it quits.” 

Dean paused, hugging the sticks he was carrying. So it WAS a break up fight, then.

"Wow. I sure didn't call that," he said honestly, watching Sam. "It's not...Cas and I didn't do that, did we?"

Sam made it sound like a mutual decision. Crowley was pretty much impossible to read, and had looked totally calm earlier, so that wasn’t much of a hint.

What the hell happened?

“No. Stupid Betty did. Well…” Sam turned farther away and started digging out a stick from a pile of leaves and grass. “There’s just no future for Crowley and me. It’s not like we can even be in a long term relationship. Not that he wants to be, anyway. But there’s just nothing past dating. Why bother? He’s got Hell to run and I’ve got monsters to kill. So I’d rather break it off before he gets bored with me.” Sam added the last heavily, pausing in trying to free the stick. 

Dean tilted his head, looking at the stick. It hadn't even occurred to him to worry about Cas being around for the long haul. He'd been around for years already, and after that conversation in the cabin there was zero uncertainty. They were together for good.

Sam probably didn't have that. Knowing Crowley (and Dean knew Crowley pretty damn well at this point), he was playing it totally cool so he'd look like he was in control of the situation, even if he was secretly a hopeless sap for other people loving him.

If Sam had actually said "I love you" at any point and meant it, Dean had no doubt the demon was a goner for him.

"So...YOU decided to call it quits after the weekend," he concluded.

Sam stood up straight and turned to him. He nodded. 

“Yeah,” he mumbled guiltily, hugging his armload of sticks. He was quiet for a moment before averting his eyes to the trees around them. He was failing pathetically at keeping his expression calm. “We weren’t serious anyway.” 

Dean nodded a little. 

"Sure, okay. A romantic couple's retreat is SO casual."

He couldn't muster too much sarcasm. Nothing about how Sam was behaving said the relationship had been casual in any way. Sam didn't exactly date a lot, either — Dean wasn't sure he could recall ANY relationship of his brother’s that he would call casual.

Taking a deep breath, he added hastily, "You, uh, you called it, by the way. About Cas."

“It wasn’t a guess, Dean. He told me a long time ago.” Sam glanced his way and smiled sadly. “At least this retreat was good for something.” 

Dean cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. Right, Cas mentioned that he'd told Sam, too.

"This wasn't the plan. Just sorta happened." He picked up another stick, waving it at Sam. "Actually, no. We MADE it happen. It's been years, Sam, and we both had no freaking clue the other felt this way 'til now. At the risk of sounding like a bad slogan, sometimes you gotta stop thinking so much and just do something."

“I did,” Sam murmured, going back to picking at the stick in the grass. He got it free, but instead of adding it to the ones already in the pile, he tossed it off into the woods. It broke over a tree and fell out of sight. 

Dean sighed. He couldn't really fault Sam for doing what he considered the WRONG thing. It wasn't his relationship. Maybe he didn't know Crowley as well as he thought. Maybe the demon was totally fine with things, and out there charming the souls off of the other guests as they spoke.

"You just seem pretty damn conflicted, for a guy who did what he wanted to do," he said finally. "But what do I know? Sorry things turned out so crappy. I know Crowley's temper — he probably didn't make it any easier."

“No, he made it easy. He didn’t get mad or yell or anything. He just…let it h-happen.” Sam swallowed and hugged his bunch of sticks closer, pinching his lip with his teeth. 

They were interrupted by Dean’s phone humming in his pocket. 

Dean considered whether to answer it, but when he glanced at the caller ID it said it was Cas. Shooting Sam a sympathetic look, he hit the answer button.

"Cas, I'm a bit busy right now."

Cas didn’t reply. The voices on the other side of the line were muffled. 

“Sam doesn’t seem to be enjoying the retreat,” the angel said calmly. The sound of crinkling bags could be heard, along with voices in the background. Other couples, no doubt. 

Had Cas seriously butt-dialed Dean’s phone?

Dean frowned, straining to hear the voices. It was pretty quiet, but somebody else was talking.

He pulled the phone away from his ear and tapped the button for speakerphone. As if on cue, Crowley's voice came through next.


	14. Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Apologies for the couple weeks with no updates -- life's been a whirlwind, birthdays, holidays, extended visits to relatives, etc. Chapter 13 turned out to be a bit unlucky; we never meant to leave you cliffhanging for quite THIS long. Things have calmed down now, and we're resuming with the Tuesday updates, starting with today's. Hope you enjoy the new chapter! ♥

"The retreat isn't the problem, Feathers, and I'm sure you're feeling smug about what is." Crowley sounded less snarky than usual — put-out, even. He probably fully expected that Dean and Cas were trying to break him and Sam up.

“How can I be smug when you’re hurting Sam? He’s been happy for months and now he only smiles when he knows someone is looking at him,” Castiel grumbled. There was a pause and the crunch of a paper bag. “What did you do?” 

Sam frowned sadly, stepping closer to listen. It was too late to cut him off now. Dean held the phone up so they could both listen, hoping that Crowley didn't say anything too horrible.

"Because of course, it's something I'VE done," the demon replied bitterly. There was a little sloshing sound, like he'd sat down or picked up a drink. "You want to know what I've done? Nothing."

“Sam is the ‘relationship type,’” Cas persisted. “Dean always says so. He wouldn’t leave you for nothing. You must have done something.” 

Sniffling a bit, Sam ducked away from Dean and made a beeline back toward camp, tossing his armload of sticks aside.

Dean dropped his sticks and started after him, the phone glowing in his hand. 

"I suppose I did," Crowley was saying quietly. "I started to believe that we had something."

There was a pause, then Cas sighed in annoyance. 

“…I hadn’t thought demons were capable of love.” 

Sam sped right back to camp, but he didn’t try to find anyone — he ducked into his tent and tugged the cloth door shut. Dean jabbed the button to hang up before stepping back toward the campfire. 

He was pretty sure that conversation had just made Sam even more miserable. Crowley really didn't sound angry, either, though. There had to be something they weren't saying, here.

When Crowley saw Dean approaching, he tossed back the rest of the scotch he was drinking and got to his feet.

"As fun as it is being told I'm the problem again, Feathers, I'm going to call it a night."

"Yeah, well leave Sam alone," Dean warned him, frowning.

“Don’t, Dean,” Cas said gently, stepping over to rest a hand on the small of Dean’s back. He gave him a frown as he led him away from the demon.

Crowley watched them go, looking completely bemused when Dean went along without further protest. When Dean glanced back for him again, he'd vanished.

"Well that went great," Dean whispered to Cas, hugging an arm around his waist. The angel looked distractingly good in the firelight. Dean felt a little guilty at what a happy turn their relationship had taken, with Sam's for comparison. "You butt dialed me!"

“I’m sorry,” Cas said without a hint of remorse as they made their way toward the food cabin. “Dean, I wasn’t sure at first, but now I’m certain: Crowley is in love with Sam. We can’t let them break up.” 

Dean didn’t reply — he was too busy staring in surprise. 

“You butt dialed me on PURPOSE! Wow, Cas, that’s…” That was really sneaky and clever. Cas WAS strategic, though. He shook his head, trying to focus on more important things. “Sam said BETTY was the problem,” he told Cas, frowning. “At least part of it. Sounded like he thought Crowley would get bored and ditch him, too, but Crowley doesn’t sound like he wants to break up.”

“No, Betty is only PART of the problem.” Cas lead Dean into their own tent, getting down on all fours to crawl inside. He peered back out over his shoulder, whispering, “We need to find her. Perhaps she’ll know the cause of Sam and Crowley’s argument.” 

"Yeah..." Dean cleared his throat, trying to focus on the angel's face. Cas was still wearing his spare jeans, which were just a bit too tight, and no trench coat meant...well, a pretty nice view, at the moment.

Dean coughed, adding more seriously, "You said she saw the argument, right? You know, her Robo Chick fiance was actually crying earlier. Maybe we should try talking to her first, she's not a demon who might be working for Crowley on the side."

Cas thought it over and nodded, crawling back out of the tent to his feet. He dusted his knees. 

“I spoke with Betty earlier. She and Victoria were going on the rock hunt before dinner. Selena said we could go, too, if we wanted.” He frowned slowly. “She said it would be a good time to make up. Maybe we will be telling stories.” 

Dean couldn't help himself — he stepped closer and rested a hand on Cas's shoulder, leaning in to kiss his cheek. 

"Thanks for noticing this stuff, Cas," he said, smiling.

The smile didn't last long; after the talk in the woods, Sam's situation was even worse than before, and Dean felt a little guilty for being happy.

"Sam's in his tent, and Crowley's who-knows-where. I don't think we're gonna convince them to join this one."

Castiel’s frown softened and he leaned his head against Dean’s. 

“Then we just need to talk to Victoria on our own.”  


* * *

  
If Sam was in a movie, this would be the rainy scene where the hero hits rock bottom and then makes a decision to overcome his problem. Or fails to.

Sam didn’t even want to get out of his sleeping bag. He had crawled in there after the overheard conversation with Crowley and tried his best to force his feelings down in his stomach like Dean always did. 

Sam’s demonic lover was bound to show up sooner or later. He’d be mad if he knew Sam had listened in on his conversation with Cas, but it wasn’t what Crowley said that had upset Sam so much. It was Cas. 

“He wouldn’t leave you for nothing.”

The angel’s words cut deeply. That was exactly what he was leaving for, wasn’t it? Crowley had been wonderful and then Sam came along and decided they had no future together. That was true as far as he was concerned, but Crowley hadn’t actually done anything wrong. He was being as attentive and classy as ever. Sam was the one huddled in a sleeping bag, sniffling and crying like a little kid. 

They still had until Monday, though. He was determined to give Crowley a nice romantic retreat until then.

"Well, I'm officially the problem," a familiar accented voice remarked from a few feet away. Crowley must have appeared there at some point in the last few minutes. For a second Sam thought he was about to talk about his conversation with Cas, but instead the demon added bitterly, "Dean told me to stay away from you. Is that also how you feel, Moose?"

“No. The opposite, actually.” Bracing himself with a smile, Sam rolled over and shook his head. Crowley was sitting on his sleeping bag, a glass of scotch in hand and a little scowl on his face. Sam unzipped the side of his own sleeping bag and beckoned the other man closer. 

Crowley's glance said that he wasn't fooled by the smile for a second. He sat his drink aside immediately, though, and moved over and slid under the covers beside Sam. Turning, he hugged around the taller man's waist and sighed softly.

"I suppose we could go find more painted rocks or…make s'mores, or sing around the campfire," he murmured halfheartedly. "What shall we do, darling?"

“I think we should find rocks and give them to Dean. He and Cas seem like they’re really enjoying themselves.” Sam held him close, sighing too. “We can’t skip s’mores. Camping out without eating s’mores is a crime. Dean used to tell me that.” 

Laying around in bed with Crowley also sounded nice, but a distraction from his thoughts sounded like a safer idea. The last thing Sam wanted was quiet time to think about his doomed love life. 

"Because we're such good, law-abiding individuals," Crowley replied mildly, resting a palm against Sam's cheek. He looked up enough to study the hunter's face for a moment — fondly, like he didn't even notice the obvious red eyes from crying.

"S'mores, then, and another ridiculous rock hunt." He smiled like they didn't have a care in the world, hazel eyes twinkling playfully. He was just going along with things again. Was he plotting something?

Sam leaned in for a kiss, brushing his fingers through the demon’s hair. Officially, this was their last night together. It was tempting to just stay in, but it was early yet. The retreat ended tomorrow evening after the whole raft ride and trust exercises thing. If they made it there. They had better go out and enjoy themselves before it got too late. 

“Selena said the that rock hunt was a cooperative effort. I guess we get to share a flashlight or something.” Hesitantly, Sam sat up on his elbows and looked down at Crowley. They’d probably make a terrible team since they started fighting. 

Crowley was right. Sam didn’t trust him. Running around in the dark and relying on each other to spot rocks seemed like it really wasn’t going to help that. 

The King of Hell rolled over onto his back more, raising his eyebrows.

"Aww," he said sweetly, "Sounds like a two hand kind of task. I'm sure we can put our heads together and come up with a solution that works, Moose." 

It was tough to tell if the purring tone was sincere or a little sarcastic. For a few minutes Crowley had actually seemed sad, but now he was back to being difficult to read.

As Sam kissed him again, he wished that he had the willpower to keep his emotions off his face like that. At least Crowley seemed determined to ignore the crying, so Sam was too. 

“We should get out there then,” he whispered.  


* * *

  
The sun was hanging pretty low over the lake as Dean and Cas made their way down to the edge of the water. Other couples were perched around, holding hands, whispering and smooching in the romantic lighting. 

Cas paused at the bottom of the dirt trail, waiting patiently for Dean. 

“I see Victoria,” he said quietly, gesturing off near the trees. 

The black haired woman was sitting on a log, her strappy red shoes placed beside her and her feet in the water. She stirred the lake with her toes, lost in thought. Betty didn’t seem to be around. 

Dean glanced around to be sure. Having the demon out of sight made him wary. It felt a little too easy to get Victoria alone. 

“I think she’s more likely to talk one on one,” he told Cas honestly, crossing his arms. “Can you hang back, keep an eye out for Betty while I chat up Robo Chick?” 

“I’ll keep watch…after I get that rock out of that tree.” The angel kissed Dean’s cheek and pointed to a bright orange rock tucked into the crook of the branches of a tree by the water.

“Sounds good, good plan,” Dean said. He was pretty sure he sounded like an idiot right about now. For some reason, Cas kissing even his cheek without putting on a show for people made him blush like hell. Before this weekend, Cas had NEVER kissed him. Like, ever. And now it could happen anytime. That was HUGE. 

With equal suaveness, he raised a hand and waved at Cas even though he was only going to walk away about fifty feet, adding, “I’d better…y’know. ‘Bye.”

God, he needed to channel Suave Dean or this woman wasn’t even going to speak to him. Taking a deep breath, he stepped past Cas without daring look back at whatever expression was on his handsome angel face, and made a beeline for Victoria.


	15. Happy Faces

Charming, Dean told himself. NOT hitting on, just charming. Friendly-like. Jesus, was Cas watching him walk away? It was better not to think about it. 

Channeling his best friendly and sincere persona for chatting up strangers on hunts, Dean stepped up beside Victoria’s log seat and glanced down at her. 

“Trouble in paradise?”

“There’s no such place as paradise,” came the gloomy response. Victoria glanced up at Dean, hooded eyes tired. “Shouldn’t you be looking for rocks or something?”

Dean shrugged. 

“Looks like I found you instead.” He looked out across the lake, where the setting sun was painting a ridiculously pretty pink and orange sunset all over the clouds reflected on the water. “Does the gloomy face have anything to do with the other half being a demon, maybe?” 

It occurred to him that she might not know that part. This conversation was about to go in a very interesting direction if THAT was the case…

Victoria frowned and sat back on her hands. After a second of thought, she nodded. 

“Yeah. I shoulda known better,” she sighed, swirling her foot in the water again. “She was gonna get bored sooner or later. I thought gettin’ married was what she wanted. Some kind of romantic gesture to prove I love her.” It was the first time Victoria had really talked and now that she was doing so, Dean could pick up a bit of a drawl in the way she spoke. The model looking woman pulled her legs up out of the water and hugged her knees to her chest. Her frown faded and she sniffed a bit. 

Dean blinked. Okay, she’d known about Betty being a demon. Well, good. The way she was talking sounded way too much like how Sam had been talking in the woods, though. No wonder both of their relationships were falling to pieces.

“I don’t want to bother you, but I know somebody in that EXACT same boat,” he admitted, taking a seat on the far end of the log. He glanced down it at Victoria, offering a sympathetic look. “Did she really say that to you, that she was bored?”

“Nah. She just said that gettin’ engaged was a mistake. Wouldn’t gimme a straight answer WHY though.” Victoria sighed heavily and propped her chin on her knees. “Think it’s ‘cause I’m human or ‘cause she’s a demon? Wish I was a demon.”

“Don’t say that, you don’t really want that,” Dean replied, shaking his head. He’d been there and done that, and he wouldn’t wish it on anybody. “The people I’m talking about, I think endgame is the problem. I mean, demons live forever, and humans…well, don’t.”

He shrugged. “They can say forever in wedding vows, but they can’t mean it. I’m more of a ‘live today, make it up tomorrow’ type of guy, myself.” He smiled. It was pretty easy to smile when he was thinking of Cas.

“Pft. Good for you, pal,” Victoria grumbled. “I don’t care about vows or actually gettin’ married! I just want to be with her!” She wiped at her eyes, now crying. “Betty’s my baby. I love her. I don’t care if she’s a demon or if I only get to be with her for awhile! She can date whoever she wants to when I’m gone!” Victoria scooted closer and leaned her head on Dean’s shoulder, crying harder as she threw her arms around his shoulders. 

Dean wasn’t really expecting that, but turned and wrapped his arms around her waist anyway.

“Okay, okay…” He patted her back, sighing. “I bet she’d be surprised to hear that. If there’s one thing I know about demons by now, it’s that people don’t actually love them very often. She’s probably been stabbed in the back a lot.”

The look on Crowley’s face as they left him at the campfire came to mind immediately, and Dean felt a little twinge of guilt. He didn’t really know Betty, but Crowley was the loneliest person he’d ever met. He should probably tell the King of Hell he didn’t really mean it about staying away from Sam.

Oh, right. Sammy.

He’d come over here to try and get info on how Betty managed to mess up Sam and Crowley’s relationship, and instead he was trying to help not-so-Robo Chick with her relationship woes. It was tough to ignore somebody who needed help. Her situation was so damned similar to Sam’s, it also felt like maybe if Betty and Victoria could make up, happiness was possible for everybody. 

“I could try talking to her, if you want,” he offered.

“Good luck. Betty’s stubborn,” Victoria mumbled, sitting up and dabbing her eyes. She leaned her head on Dean’s shoulder again. “Once she’s made up her mind — that’s that. Like comin' to this stupid resort.” 

“Familiar story there too,” Dean admitted, patting her back again. “She knows my…uh, my boyfriend, Cas,” he added, stumbling over the words a bit. Clearing his throat, he continued sheepishly, “So, uh, maybe she’d listen to him better.” If Cas talked to Betty like he’d talked to Crowley, he’d probably just make it worse. Dean was definitely planning on talking to Betty himself, if anything. 

Meddling in their relationship seemed so nosy, but Betty knew Crowley. Betty knew Cas. Betty and Sam were both breaking up with people who clearly loved them (and were maybe terrible at saying so.) It was all tangled together, and hopefully nobody had to cut any knots out to untangle it again. 

Sitting back, he smiled at the dark-haired woman. “It’s Victoria, right? Listen, you don’t have to sit here alone. You’re welcome to come hang out with me and Cas for s’mores if you want.”

“I just wanna go home. I’ll o-order a taxi or something,” Victoria said sadly, sitting up again.

“C’mon, you’ve gotta give Betty a chance to see how much you care about her,” Dean said, sitting up as well. Now he was remembering Sam’s words in the woods.

_“He just…let it h-happen.”_

“What if you drive off, and she’s waiting for a sign you love her, perfect or not?” He asked. “If she doesn’t believe it when you say it, then you’ve gotta show her somehow.” That was it for Sam and Crowley, too — just talking about it meant overthinking it. They needed to just spend some damn time together right now instead of thinking ahead to death and beyond.

Sniffling again, Victoria gave a little nod. 

“I s’pose it only lasts ‘til Monday. I just gotta put on a happy face ‘til then.” She took a deep breath and dried her face with the back of her hand. Was that her happy face? She got up to her feet, carefully balancing on the log. The bark was polished smooth on purpose, but that made it slippery. Victoria sighed. “Sorry to get all misty eyed on ya.” 

Dean waved off the apology. 

"I WISH the other person in this boat was this honest about things," he sighed, getting to his feet as well. "S'mores invitation's still open, in case you change your mind."

The gears were already turning regarding Crowley and Sam. Forget talking to Betty — Dean needed to talk to Crowley, he decided. Maybe he had it backward. Maybe Crowley was the one putting on the happy face 'til Monday, and Sam was the heartbreaker (giving Crowley the benefit of the doubt that he had a heart to break.)

Again, Victoria nodded sadly. She leaned over and kissed Dean’s cheek. 

“You’re a peach.” 

With that, she hopped off the log into the shallow side and headed for the trail. 

Cas was standing there at the bottom, a painted rock in hand. The black haired woman told him something in passing before Cas came over to Dean. He turned and watched Victoria go further up the trail before facing Dean. 

“What did she say? Is Betty in love with Crowley?” 

Dean smiled just standing near the angel again, shaking his head. 

"Sounds like they just need to have an honest talk. She said Demon Gidget called off their engagement, called it a mistake." He glanced around the clearing for any sign of Sam or Crowley. It was quickly getting dim out. "Reminded me a lot of Sam, honestly."

His giant little brother was nowhere in sight. The only people other than themselves were a man and woman fiddling with putting batteries into flashlights. 

Cas stepped up closer to Dean. He looked truly angelic bathed in pink light from the setting sun. It sparkled in his eyes as he stared sadly up at Dean. 

“I don’t understand why that would make Sam so upset. As far as I know, he and Crowley aren’t engaged.” 

Dean's first impulse was to kiss the sad look right off of his handsome face, but he dialed it back a little and just put a hand on the angel's shoulder. Well, and blushed at what happened in his head instead.

Sam, he reminded himself. Focus!

"No, but Sam was saying some of the same kind of things," he said, keeping his voice low. "Stuff like whether Crowley will stick around or get bored and leave. Sammy isn't really a casual relationship kind of guy."

Cas frowned, placing a hand over Dean’s on his shoulder. He brushed his fingers across the back of the hand and sighed. 

“Then we need to talk to Crowley,” he concluded the same thing Dean had.

The hunter took a step forward, sliding his arm around Cas's shoulders and hugging him. 

"Yeah. Let me, okay?" He murmured, kissing the angel's cheek. Damn he was distracting. Nope, Dean had to take a step right back again. Flustered, he explained, "We've got some drinking buddy history, and I'm not sure he'll say much with you there."

Cas caught him around the waist in kind and pulled him closer for a kiss — not on the cheek, either.

“Alright,” the angel whispered, looking up at him again, “but after the rock hunt.” He let go of Dean and showed him the orange rock that he had found. 

Dean's brain was still lingering on the kiss. He managed a sheepish, "Oh, right," and nodded intelligently. At least one of them could stay on task. Monday was approaching quick, and they had work to do.  


* * *

  
“Thank you for coming!” Selena said cheerfully, addressing the crowd of couples gathered around the big bonfire. Sam spotted Dean and Cas, Betty and Victoria and a couple other vaguely familiar faces in the fire light. “You all have your flashlights and you’ll have one hour to find as many rocks as you can ALL around the resort.” 

The happy host had stepped around the fire to hand every couple a single flashlight. Sam and Crowley’s was pink. Sam held the demon’s hand tightly and tested the flashlight with his thumb.

It made a satisfying click as it turned on. It wasn’t very bright, which had probably been done on purpose to make the game last longer. Or to scare people. Wandering around in the dark made Sam’s hunter instincts click on, too. He was starting to have second thoughts about the rock hunt until it occurred to him that he had the King of Hell at his side. 

Crowley had been pretty quiet since their conversation in the tent. He'd smile and reply when spoken to, but it was obvious that his mind was preoccupied.

Maybe the conversation with Cas was bothering him. He'd never mentioned it, just that Dean had said to stay away from Sam. Between them and Sam himself, it hadn't been a very encouraging day for the demon.

As Selena was explaining good sportsmanship, Sam let go of Crowley’s hand and put an arm around the demon’s shoulders instead. He propped his chin on the shorter man’s head. 

“Thanks for doing this. I know it’s not as fun as camping out in the tent, but it’ll be fun. I promise.” 

Crowley wrapped an arm around his waist, leaning against him like it was the most comfortable thing to do in the world. 

"Mmhmm," he murmured, looking down at their hot pink flashlight. "Where do you want to search first?"

Glancing around to make sure none of the other couples were eavesdropping, Sam whispered down to him, “Let’s hit the lake. There are a lot of logs and stuff down there. Those are good hiding spots.” 

There was also a nice big log heading out into the water. It looked like a nice place to sit. Sam didn’t really care about finding rocks, so maybe he’d convince Crowley to join him on the log. 

When he looked down, he found the demon looking up at him fondly. No, almost...wistfully? It switched to a smirk the instant Sam really looked at him. Sam was vaguely aware of Selena finishing her speech and the people around them leaving the campfire. 

"The lake seems a bit cold for skinny dipping," Crowley teased, ignoring the others. "Lead the way, Moose."

“Hiding places for ROCKS,” Sam said pointedly, glancing around. Everybody else had indeed already left. Sam took the lead, pointing the flashlight at the trail as they walked toward the water. He hugged Crowley closer, finally feeling the chill in the air. 

One more night. 

It wouldn’t be goodbye after that, though. Sam and Crowley would have to see each other when the Winchesters needed his help. If he still offered it. Sam could see Crowley being petty about breaking up, especially when it wasn’t his own idea. If the demon was dumping Sam, it’d be a different story. 

The last few puffs of brilliant pink clouds above were giving way to stars. It all reflected on the surface of the lake in the distance.

"Stop," Crowley said, and stopped in his tracks.


	16. In The Moment

Sam stopped abruptly, his heart jumping in his chest. Were they being followed? He didn’t have any weapons on him. The flashlight would have to do. It was plastic, though. 

“What is it?” He whispered hesitantly. 

Crowley raised an eyebrow at how uneasy Sam probably looked, pointing down at the very edge of the trail.

"There's a pink rock there you just stepped on."

Puffing out a breath, Sam turned, knelt and plucked the stone off the ground. He aimed the light at it and turned it over in his hand. 

“Matches the flashlight,” Sam commented with a forced chuckle. Good grief. He was way too tense. There was nothing out there that was as dangerous as the two of them! He took Crowley’s hand again and smiled, glad that it was dark enough to hide his red face. “Good j-job.” 

Crowley lifted his hand and kissed the back of it softly.

"I know you didn't want to cheat, but it's not MY fault I can see in the dark," he murmured, glancing down at the flashlight.

Sam blinked. 

Right. 

“They laid out all the rules earlier. They didn’t mention night vision, so I guess it’s okay.” He gave Crowley a shrug and led the way again. The lake wasn’t far. 

The demon fell into step beside him. Sam thought maybe he heard a small sigh, but Crowley wasn't about to admit it if he asked.

This whole thing felt like going through the motions. Maybe they should've just stayed in the tent after all.

Sam tried not to think too deeply on it as he took a shortcut through a bunch of bushes. The trail wound around a couple of times and they only had half an hour. WHY he cared about all of the stupid rocks was beyond him. It was just the closest distraction. 

They came out of the bushes suddenly enough that Sam couldn’t stop himself from sliding down the brush covered hillside into the lake. He let go of Crowley instantly. The demon wouldn’t appreciate getting wet. Sam landed face first into the water. 

Arms wrapped around his waist and knees from underneath. Sam had a split second of alarm wondering if the lake had monsters in it before he found himself on the shore, drenched and hugged against Crowley. Of course.

"I was only joking about the skinny dipping," the demon said drolly. It was easy for him to carry Sam around like a princess, even if it probably looked hilarious with their height difference. Crowley didn't even seem to care that he'd gotten his expensive clothes soaked with lake water.

Sam blinked the water from his eyes, putting an arm around Crowley. He knew the demon wouldn’t drop him — it just felt bizarre to be carried around by anyone. 

“Thanks,” he managed. He swiped his hair back from his face with his free hand and frowned. He had dropped the rock! 

And the flashlight. 

“I, uh, dropped our rock,” he said with a cringe. 

"Well I didn't teleport myself into tepid lake water for the rock," Crowley returned mildly, turning with Sam still in his arms to look out at the lake. Sam could tell the spot where he'd fallen in from the ripples and faint glow of the flashlight under the surface.

“Put me down. I can see the light!” Sam said, pointing to the flashlight. It looked like the bottom of the lake got deeper quickly if the fading beam of light was any indication. 

Crowley definitely did sigh this time. He sat Sam on his feet, though, shrugging.

"Not sure it's worth the effort, Moose."

Sam stopped at the sound of the nickname, watching as the light faded in the water. He sighed too and turned to the demon, holding out a hand. His eyes were starting to adjust to the dark, but Sam didn’t trust himself to lead them around. Not after falling into the lake. 

“You’re right. We’ve got rocks to find.” 

Crowley looked strange and dreamlike in the dark, moonlight reflecting on the water in his hair and clothes. He reached and took Sam's hand, squeezing it.

"We don't have to," he said, shrugging and taking a step closer to Sam. "We can do whatever we like."

They really could. Sam lifted the demon’s hand, brushing his thumb lightly over Crowley’s knuckles. 

“I…” Something stopped him, made the words stick in his throat. 

Why couldn’t he be immortal? Why couldn’t Crowley be human? Then whether they were going to Heaven or Hell, they’d go there together. Sam smiled bitterly at how hopeless the thought felt, leaning down and kissing Crowley gently. He was fine with whatever his demonic lover wanted to do. 

It struck him again, how Crowley fit so perfectly into his arms. Sam felt an arm slide around his waist, and the demon pulled his other hand free of Sam’s grip to reach up and comb wet hair back from his face. 

“Sam,” he said softly, when the kiss had broken. He didn’t say anything else, though, just admired the taller man’s face and smiled up at him.

I love you, Sam thought. It was so clear and sharp that it stung like a knife in his chest. He couldn’t say it. Not after knowing that forever wasn’t an option. 

Sam had been hurt over and over again in his life. Everyone he’d ever loved had died — even Dean and Cas. Now that he had found someone else that he loved like this… No. Why fool himself into a life with real love in it when all that waited for him was endless loneliness? For Crowley too. It wasn’t fair to him, either. 

As long as he didn’t say it out loud, it wasn’t a done deal. He leaned down and kissed the demon again. His eyes stung with the threat of tears, but he knew better. 

He put on a smile and squeezed the demon’s hand. 

Just don’t say it.

“We can’t give Dean an easy win. He’ll know we didn’t try.” 

He could see that Crowley had been thinking about things, too. The shorter man smiled easily, though, and his hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. Sam really did love him, and it really wasn’t fair. 

“I could always jump back into the lake and fetch the rock you dropped,” the demon purred, pulling his attention back to the present. 

Right. Rock hunts, lakes, and moonlight. Loneliness was for Monday morning.

“Or,” Sam said playfully, dropping Crowley’s hand quickly, “I could!” He turned and dove back into the lake. He was already wet and HE was the one who dropped their stuff. 

Besides, the cool water of the lake helped the lump in his throat fade. Sam kicked his feet and paddled down, squinting to try and see the beam from the flashlight in the dark water. 

The faint glow was there, but far deeper down than he’d expected. The lake bed drastically sloped in the middle. Much closer than the light, though, the brightly painted rock rested in the mud. It looked almost neon on the moonlight.

A shadow passed over it, and Sam felt the water moving around him.

The brunette swirled to check what it was, hair drifting briefly over his vision. Were there fish in the lake? He hadn’t bothered to check. The retreat was going to have a raft ride, so it wasn’t like it could be something big and toothy. 

Hopefully. 

He found Crowley swimming after him, hair drifting above his head, nice clothes flowing like he was flying. It occurred to Sam that the demon didn’t need to breathe. Weird thought.

Sam did, though. He focused and dove deeper to snag the rock. He left the flashlight where it had rolled. It was too deep down and it sort of sounded fun to make Crowley lead him around in the dark. 

As soon as the stone was safely in his hand, Sam started swimming for the surface… Whichever way that was. He slowly spun in place and caught a sparkling ripple overhead. It was like a beacon. He gestured to Crowley, knowing that the demon could see it in the dark, and started swimming again. 

There was a softness to every movement underwater — Crowley’s arms slid around his waist, and Sam was pretty sure he hadn’t been swimming as fast as they were moving. The next thing he knew, his head was above the water and the night air felt strangely warm compared to the lake. 

Crowley stayed hugging him; Sam only knew his head was above the surface because of the little chuckle that came from behind him somewhere near his shoulders. 

“It’s not skinny dipping, but close enough.”

Sam shivered at the contrast, treading water as best he could with one arm since he was unwilling to let go of the demon. 

“Maybe later?” He managed as he caught his breath. 

“Maybe,” Crowley replied fondly, playing along. Like they had a ‘later’. For a demon, Crowley lied surprisingly little, but Sam had no doubt he’d be good at it. 

There were soft voices from the trees on the shore. Sam would recognize his brother’s voice anywhere.

“So, uh, maybe we should talk, Cas.” There was the crunchy sound of footsteps on gravel, a twig or two cracking. "About us."

Crowley let go of Sam’s waist finally, peeking around his shoulder at the tree line with brows raised. 

“Our turn to do the spying,” he whispered, smirking.

“Revenge sounds nice, but I don’t wanna watch them awkwardly make out,” Sam mumbled, hooking his arm around Crowley and starting toward a part of the shore with a big log on it. 

The demon let himself be pulled along, but looked back as a little flashlight beam finally broke through the trees. 

“I CAN think of more fun things,” he murmured, turning to look at the log on the edge of the water. “…Feathers doesn’t seem to care if he outlives Dean.” 

He said it mildly, but the contrast to them was impossible to ignore. What WOULD Cas do when Dean eventually died? He was banned from Heaven, last they’d heard.

Sam braced his arms on the log, catching the demon between him and it. He sighed. Commenting on it would probably lead to a fight. Dean probably wouldn’t be heading to Heaven anyway. Unless Chuck decided to do him a huge favor. 

“Dean’s all for living for the moment. Maybe he’ll rub off on Cas.” 

Leaning back against the log, Crowley brought both hands up to comb through Sam’s hair. 

“Isn’t that what we’re trying to do? Live in the moment, not rub Feathers down,” he clarified, smirking.

Sam’s eyebrows knitted sadly and he pulled away from the demon. He rested an arm on the log and watched the light on the shore as Dean and Cas moved closer. 

He couldn’t live for the moment. Not with Crowley. One kiss in the moment wasn’t good enough anymore. 

Crowley rested a hand lightly on his back and said nothing. He could feel it, too, Sam was sure — missing each other with the other right here.

It wasn’t like it had been before, no matter how much pretending either of them did.  


* * *

  
For the first time since they’d started this retreat, Dean had nothing to do but actually spend time with Cas. They’d agreed that he should talk to Crowley after the rock hunt, and Sam and the demon had run off by themselves pretty fast. 

That left just Dean, a moonlit lakeshore, and the angel he’d been pining after for years. Castiel, celestial being and awkward fake FBI partner. Maybe it was the ridiculous, almost cliche romantic setting, or maybe the memory of Cas holding his FBI badge upside-down. Whatever the reason, despite all of the worries weighing on him, Dean couldn’t stop smiling.

"Cas."

Cas hadn’t answered his vague suggestion that they talk (he seemed intent on spotting any painted rocks), so Dean stopped walking on the beach, turning to him. There was a big log far off down the shore; it reminded him of his conversation with Victoria. 

Not right now, Dean told himself. Right now there was nobody but him and Cas. 

Finally.


	17. Sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: everybody in this chapter says sorry at some point except Sam. That includes the authors — sorry for the missed update last week! Traveling threw off our usual writing schedule. Please enjoy the new chapter, and thanks for reading! ♥

The angel looked back at him, blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight like some insanely gorgeous painting. He looked worried as he put a hand on Dean’s shoulder. 

“Dean?”

Dean glanced down at his hand, blinking. It was the same shoulder Cas’s handprint had burned a mark on, so many years ago. He wasn’t sure why that made his heart ache. They’d wasted years not talking. Well, not wasted, but…

Focusing on the worried blue eyes in front of him instead, Dean realized the smile he’d been wearing had faded. No wonder Cas looked concerned. 

“I, uh.” He picked Cas’s hand off of his shoulder and held it. “It’s nothing bad, I was just thinking about us. You.”

“I was thinking about you, too, Dean.” Castiel moved closer, smiling softly. “The way you eat your food with such zeal. It’s…adorable,” the angel said in amusement. He looked up at Dean. “I’m thankful that I don’t eat. Then I can watch you.” 

Whatever Dean had been about to say, the instant rise in body temperature burnt it up. Cas was a pretty solemn guy, so when he smiled like THAT, it caught Dean completely off-guard. 

“Wow…thanks,” he mumbled, flustered. Next time he ate something, he was going to be self-conscious. How had he had no idea Cas had feelings for him before this weekend? How could Past Dean be THAT much of an idiot? 

Clearing his throat, he tried to focus on Cas again. “You know I’m in it for the long haul, right? Forever, you and me.”

Cas wrapped him in a hug, resting his head against Dean’s shoulder. 

“So am I,” he murmured. He stood there quietly for a moment and then continued, “My Heaven is here on Earth now.” Cas lifted his head and looked up at Dean with misty blue eyes. “Wherever you are, Dean.” 

The love in those eyes was staggering, and humbling. Dean seriously doubted he deserved it, but there it was anyway, impossible to deny. He turned the angel’s face toward his and kissed him softly, heart thundering in his chest. 

“Love you, too, sweetheart.” 

Calling him anything but ‘Cas’ or ‘buddy’ or ‘friend’ made Dean nervous, but he wanted to try it. They weren’t just pals who kissed now, damn it. This was more than that. 

His words and the kiss only seemed to make Castiel’s eyes grow stormier. He looked like he might cry as he stuck his head over Dean’s shoulder to hug him again. 

“I love you, too, but…” He sniffed sadly. 

Dean hugged both arms around him, practically shaking. Did he screw it all up? He should’ve just said ‘Cas’ like always… 

“Hey,” he whispered, patting the angel’s back. “Look, I-I’m sorry, Cas. I’m bad at this.”

“No, Dean…” Cas sat back enough to look up at him, their nose inches apart. Those beautiful eyes were still full of tears. “I’M sorry. I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner. I was so afraid. If you had said no, I don’t know if I could have gone on.” 

Dean wasn’t sure if he was more relieved or flustered. 

“Yeah, well, me too,” he said, blushing. “So we’re both idiots, okay? Don’t be sorry. I’m not. We still had all these years side by side, and I don’t regret a second I’ve spent with you.” He sat up and kissed Cas’s nose, smiling and trying to ignore his suddenly misty eyes. “It’s just better now ‘cause we don’t have to hide it anymore, right? Can only get better from here on out.”

Cas blinked at the kiss, blushing a bit. He kept his arms around Dean as he snuggled up to him. 

“Yes. Much better, Dean,” he breathed very softly. The roughness of his voice sent a flutter through Dean’s chest. “We’re being watched.” 

Dean hugged him tighter, resisting the impulse to glance around. Damn it, why now? 

He whispered to the angel, "It's not Betty, is it?"

“It’s Sam. I see him by that log. I have to assume Crowley is with him.” The angel leaned back and looked up at Dean, slipping a hand up to brush along the taller man’s cheek. “We should confront them.” 

Now that he knew they had an audience, even the touch to his face made Dean blush. He was conflicted about how to feel, too — on one hand, he really did want to help Sam. On the other, damn it, he'd finally gotten a few minutes alone with Cas...

Taking the hand Cas had on his face, he pulled it down to kiss the angel's palm, sighing.

"Yeah, I think we both owe Crowley an apology," he admitted.

Cas frowned, then nodded. He turned on his heel and marched off down the dark lake shore. Hopefully in the direction of Sam and Crowley. 

Dean heard water in the lake sloshing just before he heard his brother’s voice. 

“Hey Cas.” 

It was silly to hang back when he knew Sam had seen them both, so Dean stepped over to join them.

Moonlight reflected brightly off of the lake. Sam and Crowley were in the water, fully dressed and not seeming to care. They were leaning against the big log that Dean had spotted when he got to the shore.

"So you didn't go to bed early," Dean stated the obvious, giving his brother a little smile.

“Uh, no,” Sam mumbled. He waded closer to the shore around the log. He held up a pink painted rock for Dean to see in the dim light. “We found a rock. I’m not sure that a romantic raft ride is really our cup of tea, but what the hell.” 

Dean stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans and nodded, glancing at Crowley out of the corner of his eye.

The King of Hell looked maybe a little bored, if anything. He was really hard to read, though. Didn’t seem angry with Cas or Dean at all, at least.

"The flashlights they gave us were practically useless — I’m not surprised you chucked yours," Dean joked to Sam.

“I lost it when I tripped and fell into the lake,” Sam explained, finally cracking a small smile. He leaned casually and took Crowley’s hand. “Too bad you showed up. Skinny dipping sounded kinda fun.” 

“The lake is cold at night,” Cas stated. He stepped closer to Dean, slipping his arm through the taller man’s. “We don’t want the raft ride either.” He sat up straight. “However, we’re going to find more rocks than you.” 

Sam stared at him, quirking an eyebrow. 

“…Is that a challenge, Cas?” 

The angel glanced up at Dean and then nodded to Sam. 

“Yes.” 

"He's on a mission," Dean warned Sam. Crowley, he noticed, seemed perfectly at ease with Sam still. The demon lifted Sam's hand and kissed it, smirking.

"We'd best look more places than just the lake, then,” he spoke finally. They both turned to look at Cas, who did indeed look very serious.

“You’re on,” Sam told the angel, sticking his free hand out. Cas shook it. 

“We won’t lose,” Cas said firmly. “Let’s go, Dean. I saw another rock on the way down.” 

"Lead the way," Dean said, waving at Sam and Crowley. "Good luck, you'll need it!"

There was nothing like a little rivalry to make two people team up and work together.

He still had to have a chat with Crowley one-on-one, but this was definitely leaving Sam and the demon better than last time he'd seen them together.  


* * *

  
Sam was still full from eating pancakes, though he was tempted by the fancy chef salad bar that the lodge had set up. 

After their little chat with Dean and Cas last night, he and Crowley had made good time hunting down ten more rocks. That put them at eleven. There was no way the other two could top that. Cas wouldn’t tell them how many he and Dean had found, so Sam hadn’t mentioned their total, either. 

Crowley had led him around in the dark flawlessly and it had made Sam realize that they were a good team. He held Crowley’s hand as they continued PAST the salad set up. 

This was their last day together. 

After all of the misery and worry, it felt too short. They needed one more day. Maybe just the two of them. Sam swallowed and pushed the thought deeper. They had both agreed on Monday. That was that. 

“Too bad I filled up on pancakes. That kale is really…green,” he mumbled as they passed by the salad bar. 

"You can have kale any day, but my rum pancakes were a one-time deal," Crowley replied mildly, looking out across the room. He frowned, adding, "I know you don't care for Betty, but I need to talk to her a moment. Would you mind if we...?" He nodded over at the little blond demon, who was seated at a table by herself.

Crowley must be painfully aware of how little time they had left, too.

“Sure,” Sam agreed, leading him that way. He was determined to be agreeable today. 

Demoness Betty was playing with her long pink nails and gazing out the big window above her table. She was in a tiny thigh-length rose pink dress and white sandals. She looked almost sweet. 

Sam felt bad for all the trouble he’d caused her and her fiance over the weekend, well aware that it was their conversation with HER that started all of his troubles. That made them sort of even. 

She glanced up as they came closer, pulling on a friendly smile. 

“Hey Crowley! Those pancakes were like SO yummy. Almost as yummy as your stud, there.” She giggled, winking at Sam. 

“Hey,” Sam offered with a cringe. 

"Almost," Crowley agreed smoothly, smiling. "I see the wedding's no longer in the cards." He gestured down to Betty's hand, and Sam realized that the pretty white and gold engagement ring was no longer on the demon's finger.

As pleasant as Crowley's tone was, he was no longer smiling. Sam couldn't exactly avoid thinking about the wedding conversation now that he'd brought it up.

Betty shifted in her seat, then shrugged a shoulder. For the first time since they met, Sam noticed the blond’s expression growing sad. She hid her ringless finger under her other hand. 

“Yeah. Sorry you won’t get an invite. Maybe n-next time, huh?” She added a laugh, but it was humorless. 

Sam braced himself. Next time? He hadn’t even thought about that. Would Crowley just run off and find someone else? He seemed like the type to wash away painful memories with somebody new. 

With how Sam felt, he wasn’t sure he’d want to do that. He couldn’t. He didn’t have it in him. 

Crowley stepped closer to pat Betty’s hand, an uncomfortably knowing look on his face.

"Sorry, love. I never saw you so happy as you were when you told me." He sighed, adding, "Happily ever after isn't meant for demons, I suppose."

“Oh, no! I called it off. Victoria is so…so…” Betty trailed off, pinching her lip between her teeth. She shrugged a shoulder again, blinking quickly to try and prevent her eyes from tearing up. 

Crowley sat up and tilted his head. It was impossible for Sam not to compare himself and Crowley with the two women, and he doubted Crowley could avoid thinking it, either.

"And she accepted it?" Crowley asked more quietly.

Betty wiped angrily at her eyes as she started to cry. 

“What’s gonna happen when she dies? I won’t be there. She’s like SUCH a good person — she’s gonna go to Heaven and totally forget about me!” The blond sobbed, scooting to the edge of her seat to hug her arms around Crowley’s waist. 

Sam wasn’t sure if he should add his two cents or not. The situation was already painful enough. 

He was worried he’d die and never see Crowley again, too. Not because he was going to Heaven — Sam seriously doubted that would happen. He had no doubt in his mind that people that really, truly loved one another wound up in Heaven together, though, and Crowley…

It was so unfair that Crowley was a demon.


	18. Talking Out

"I know," Crowley murmured, hugging Betty. "If she loves you, darling, she doesn't want to go any more than you want to stay."

Love. That was a big 'if'. Crowley had never actually used the word 'love' in the months that they'd been together, and with the end in sight, Sam doubted he ever would.

“She thinks I hate her now,” Betty sniffled sadly. She glanced Sam’s way and added, “But I love her so much.” The blond looked up at Crowley. “She said she’d straight up murder somebody if she could be with me forever and I totally freaked. I love her like she is! All mushy a-and soft and sweet! Oh my gawd…I love her so much!” She blubbered. 

Those words didn’t quite apply to the Victoria Sam had met… 

He had thought something similar. If he could find some way to make himself immortal, he and Crowley could be together forever too. As long as the demon didn’t get bored with him. Both couples were breaking up instead, though. It was for the best. The sooner they broke up, the sooner they wouldn’t sit around missing each other when they died.

"She'll only live so long either way," Crowley said, rubbing the demon's shoulder gently. "What does it say, that she wants to spend that entire short life with you? And darling, what if she only spends it missing you now instead?"

It was Sam’s turn to bite his lip. Crowley sounded like he was talking about them. Something about his tone made his words hurt. 

Of course Sam would miss him. For the rest of his life. But…

Betty sat up and shook her head. 

“She won’t. I’ll make sure of it.” She let go of Crowley and dabbed her eyes, still breathing shakily. “I can’t just l-leave her like this.” 

"Talking it out might help her understand why," Crowley agreed, and he glanced at Sam as he said it. Focusing on Betty again, he added evenly, "Talk it out, maybe have one last day together, and say goodbye. You and I both know how it feels to be abandoned — don't let it end like that."

Was he talking about their past work together, or something further back? He wasn't talking about Sam, was he?

Sam took the demon’s hand tightly, offering Betty a bit of advice. 

“Don’t do anything crazy. Just talk to her.” 

The way she was talking made Sam worry she might try a spell to make her forget or something. Victoria didn’t deserve that. She deserved to remember being happy. Sam couldn’t stop his gaze from drifting to the man beside him. Maybe Crowley wanted one more day, too. 

“Okay. Thanks for the pep talk, you guys,” Betty said sadly. She leaned and gave Sam a one-armed hug. “I’ll try the whole talking thing.” 

"Chin up, darling," Crowley murmured, patting her shoulder one more time. "Why not ask her to the trust exercises? It's a good reason to start talking again, yes?"

“Oh my god!” Betty whined to the sky. “I forgot about those!” She sniffed and nodded to Crowley. “You’re a peach.” She poked a pink nail playfully at the demon’s chest. “My favorite king EVER.” Kissing Crowley’s cheek, she started off. She was busy fluffing her hair as she disappeared out the door. 

Sam turned to Crowley. He had a couple questions, he just wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to ask them right before they did couples activities together. 

Trust exercises. What did those entail, exactly? Potato sack races? Trust falls? What? 

Crowley was watching Betty leave with a fond little smile. Complimenting his kingly skills probably helped with that.

"Moose, let's have a drink," the demon said, turning to Sam. "And then we find out how much you trust me, if at all." His eyes twinkled as he said it, and the playful little smirk made it clear that he wasn't really that worried.

“That sounds good.” Sam forced a smile and placed a kiss in the exact spot that Betty had. He gestured to the salad bar. “Can I grab something to eat first? After all those s’mores and pancakes, some vegetables seem like a good idea.” 

Crowley looked up at him, crossing his wrists to point both ways at once.

"How about you go get kale, and I'll get the pina coladas, and we meet in the middle?"

“Deal,” Sam agreed. He turned and made a beeline toward the salad bar. He needed a few minutes to gather his thoughts. 

If Crowley wanted them to talk, fine. They’d talk. The conversation with Betty had painted him a clear image of what Crowley thought of the situation. It was Sam’s turn to clear some things up.  


* * *

  
Dean saw his chance. Sam and Crowley had parted ways, his brother heading for the salad bar (of course) and the demon for the alcoholic type of bar (also of course.)

"Two pina coladas, please," Crowley was telling the bartender, looking perfectly at ease. Dean wanted to smack him. Playing it cool was the whole problem, here — Sam probably thought he just plain didn't care.

"Hey, don't forget the tiny umbrellas, he's a big fan," Dean told the bartender, coming over to stand beside Crowley. “Oh, and bring me a shot of whiskey? Thanks.” The demon looked at him with a little smirk, nodding off toward the salad bar table.

"You've got Feathers distracting Sam, I see. Here to tell me off once and for all?"

The angel had made his way to Sam the second Dean had joined Crowley at the bar. He had a hand resting on the back of Sam’s shoulder and was leaning up to talk to him quietly. Sam looked more than a little confused. 

Dean turned from them back to Crowley, shrugging.

"So Cas isn't great at being subtle. I'm not here to tell you off, though. Actually, uh...I wanted to apologize."

Crowley raised his eyebrows, barely glancing as the bartender handed Dean his whiskey shot. Dean gave a nod of thanks, but didn't drink it yet.

"For?" Crowley asked drolly. "Am I supposed to believe that you're not congratulating yourself that Moose is set on ending whatever this is we're doing the moment it's Monday?"

Dean cleared his throat, glancing back at Sam and Cas.

Cas was trying to lead Sam by the arm to a table and the taller man was shaking his head. The angel stopped and stared up at him with those haunting blue eyes, whispering something up to Sam. With a sigh, they settled at the table. 

Crowley followed his gaze, and the smirk had disappeared. He looked almost sad.

Dean opened his mouth to reply, and the bartender arrived with the pina coladas, placing them next to Crowley on the counter. The demon shot the man a fond look in thanks.

"Actually, yeah," Dean sighed, watching the bartender walk off to help another person down the bar. He leveled a determined look at Crowley. "Breaking you two up was never the plan here. I'm sorry I told you to stay away from Sam, but you can't blame the breakup on me. That's on you."

"In case you hadn't noticed, it's HIM who's leaving me," Crowley growled, waving a hand in Sam's general direction. Dean peeked at his brother and his boyfriend again.

The two men across the room seemed to be having a heart to heart over Sam’s enormous fluffy salad. Cas was doing a pretty good job distracting him.

"Yeah, well I don't see you stopping him!" Dean told Crowley, looking at him again just to frown at him. "I remember your whole 'love is weakness', 'I'm not sentimental' crap from my demon time, and you know what? That's how you LOSE somebody. Have you ever even said the word love to him?"

"And then what?" Crowley asked bitterly. "All of our problems will magically go away, and we'll live happily ever after?" He scowled. "No. He's decided already that if he doesn't leave me, I'll leave him, and I'm not going to bloody beg!"

Dean scowled back.

"Then you're proving him right."

"Don't you dare put words into my mouth," Crowley hissed. "I was going to PROPOSE this weekend, that's how sure I am about this!" He looked at Sam and faltered, the anger in his voice drifting down to sadness. "I was going to tell him everything. That I love him. But he doesn't WANT me to."

Dean blinked and turned to look back to Sam, too. Okay, he'd known the whole time that going to a couples retreat wasn't exactly a casual thing, but...getting engaged? Crowley really wanted that? …Did Sam want that?

Knocking back his whiskey shot, Dean patted the demon on the shoulder. 

"Don't you think you better make sure?"

Crowley looked up at him, but said nothing in reply. Dean nodded toward Sam.

"You've still got a few hours. Get to it."  


* * *

  
“Dean, Cas, welcome to the trust exercises!” Selena said nicely as they passed through the door. The room inside was large, with tall windows that overlooked the lake outside. There wasn’t any furniture, only large square pillows — twenty or so — laying in neat lines from one side of the room to the other. 

Cas took Dean’s hand and dragged him along past Selena, giving her a blank expression. He still didn’t seem to like her. 

“Should we sit next to Sam and Crowley?” He asked Dean quietly, nodding to the two men seated near the big windows. 

Sam was wearing a smile, though Dean could tell it was hollow. The slight redness ringing his eyes was a dead giveaway that something was still very wrong. 

Crowley, on the other hand, was right back to looking perfectly fine. Damn it. 

Dean sighed and shook his head.

"We did our best, Cas, now it's up to them. Besides, we're not just here to spy on them anymore, right?" He squeezed the angel's hand, looking at him almost shyly. "We're a couple now, and this's a couples retreat, sweetheart. Let's not fake at least one of these activities, huh?"

The angel lifted his hand, pressing a gentle kiss to Dean’s knuckles. Then he smiled up at him. 

“I…I haven’t faked anything, Dean.” 

“Okay! Everybody sit down! Your partner needs to be sitting in front of you.” Selena closed the door and went to hover at the end of the pillow rows. 

Dean glanced quickly at her, feeling his whole face flush. Cas was so effortlessly charming when he smiled like that. It still wasn't fair.

"You, uh, you want to sit front or back?" He asked, clearing his throat. They were just pillows, he told himself sternly. Pillows didn't imply ANYTHING else about their relationship, not positions, not spoon sizes — oh, god, sizes — too late, his mind had already gone there. Son of a bitch.

Cas gestured to the other couples in the room. 

“We’re supposed to face each other.” 

Sure enough, everyone had settled down on top of their pillows facing their partners. While Sam was facing his demon lover, he was staring out the windows overhead. 

Pulling a large purple pillow over, Cas sat on it cross legged and left enough space for Dean on the other side. 

Dean took a seat in front of him, still flustered. Jeez, if he'd been listening instead of letting his mind wander places it shouldn't, he would've realized they sat face to face.

Sam looked so sad... Wasn't Crowley going to say something? Dean was starting to get pissed at him, so he tried his best to focus on Cas instead.

Blue-eyed, dark-haired, handsome Cas, with his pretty lips and the perfect amount of scruff on his chin. Even if he wasn't a literal angel, Dean would've been the luckiest guy in the room, and then there was that on top of everything.

Annnnd thinking about the word 'top' was a bad idea right about now...

“Alright. Trust is one of the fundamental building blocks of a strong relationship,” Selena began. “It builds respect and love. If you know your partner has your back, you can overcome anything that comes your way in life. We’re going to start with an easy one.” 

She walked around the couples, pausing beside Cas and Dean like always. She smiled down at them as she continued. 

“Look into your partner’s eyes and tell them one thing you like about them. It doesn’t have to be big!” 

Giving her a sour look, Cas turned to Dean and stared up at him.


	19. Whispers

“Dean, I like your freckles,” Cas said.

I like your everything, Dean wanted to say, but instead he just blushed. Cas's look was earnest and open, his eyes shining. Dean fell in love all over again every time he smiled. He wanted to say something important and sweet and loving back, and instead there was a sudden lump in his throat.

"Thanks," he whispered.

If possible, Cas’s smile brightened. He slipped a hand over to hold Dean’s again. The moment was interrupted by Selena clapping her hands. 

“There you go! That wasn’t so hard, was it Cas?” She turned and addressed the room with a sweep of her arm. “Now it’s your partner’s turn.” 

Dean held onto Cas's hand tight, smiling at him. He had to pick just one thing to mention, huh. It didn't exclude all the rest, though. Just had to mention one thing right now.

"Cas," he said, "I like your voice. Especially when you whisper, that's..." His face was getting warm again. "That's really somethin'."

It was the angel’s turn to blush a bit as he leaned closer and whispered, “Thank you, Dean.” 

“Everyone done? Perfect! Now we’re going to try something a little harder.” Selena turned and smiled tightly at Cas. “Tell your partner a secret.” 

Dean glanced at her, then to Cas. Selena seemed really intent on them, like she thought Cas would fail this somehow. Boy was she going to be proven wrong...

Slowly, Cas looked from Selena down to Dean. He pressed his lips together nervously and gave Dean’s hand a squeeze. 

“…You go first, Dean.” 

Dean shrugged, leaning in. 

"Well, it's not a secret if she hears, so c'mere and I'll whisper it to you."

The dark haired man scooted across the pillow, practically falling into Dean’s lap. He waited expectantly with an ear turned Dean’s way. 

It was tempting to kiss his ear and see how he reacted, but Dean restrained himself. Later. He shot Selena a knowing look and leaned so close his lips just barely brushed against Cas's skin, whispering to him.

"I love soap operas. Spanish ones. Shh, don't tell."

A smile played at Cas’s lips and he nodded. 

“I promise, I won’t tell anyone.” His smile faded as he guided Dean by the chin to breath in his ear in reply, “I have no secrets from you.” 

Dean hadn't been kidding about the whispering comment; that voice gave him goosebumps, and he was pretty sure he’d just shivered. Cas had probably just told the only secret he'd been holding onto when he and Dean finally came clean about their feelings for each other.

He sat back and smiled warmly at the angel, kissing his cheek.

"That so," he said, perfectly aware that Selena had no idea what Cas had just said. "Aww."

Selena wasn’t paying attention to them, though. She was already walking across the room, long brown ponytail swinging. 

“Aw, guys, I know it’s hard. Just make it something small!” She stopped right next to Sam and Crowley’s pillow. 

Dean squeezed Cas's hands again, glancing over at his brother and the demon. After his conversation with Crowley, he couldn't imagine that Sam was hearing sweet nothings right now.

As he'd told Cas, though, it was up to Sam and Crowley now. They had to want to fix it if they were going to.  


* * *

  
The beautiful woman calling them out did nothing to quiet Sam’s nerves. He managed to play along with telling Crowley what he liked about him, but secrets… 

Those were difficult to admit. They had lots of secrets from one another. It was hard to sort through them and find something that was playful but also not too intimate. 

Trust exercises felt like a waste of time at this point. 

He cleared his throat. 

“Sorry, um…” 

“Think small. Hobbies, food preferences…” Selena mouthed a third thing, but Sam didn’t want to acknowledge that a complete stranger was trying to get him to talk about what he liked in bed. 

“Crowley, I uh…” Sam swallowed and leaned down next to the demon’s ear. He hesitated and thankfully Selena took it as a cue to take a step back. 

Crowley placed a hand on his shoulder like he wanted to pull him closer. He didn't, but he did rest his cheek against Sam's.

"Go on. I won't tell," the demon purred against his ear.

“I can’t,” Sam choked, shaking his head. He took a breath and tried to swallow the sudden lump in his throat. It was SO stupid to get upset on the last day. “Y-you go first.” 

Crowley raised a hand to rest on Sam's face gently, and kept them there cheek to cheek. 

"Alright, well..." Sam felt him sigh, a tickle of breath against his ear. "The only secrets I have that matter are the ones I'm keeping from you."

Sam barely heard him. He was too distracted by the demon’s voice. That wonderful deep, playful purr. He’d miss that so much.

I love you, Sam thought in reply, tipping Crowley’s chin up to kiss him. The demon’s lips tasted sweet from the piña colada they had shared before arriving. Sam broke away from the other man’s lips and kept his face hidden beside Crowley’s cheek. He’d never drink a piña colada again without thinking of him. 

“S-same,” he managed at last, pinching his lip in his teeth. 

Crowley looked up at him for a moment longer after the kiss. Sam could practically see the thoughts and questions in those hazel eyes. He said nothing, though, only put on a very deliberate smirk before directing his gaze to Selena.

The lovely brunette woman smiled tightly and ducked away to help another couple — Betty and Victoria. She clapped her hands again. 

“Everyone doing good? Great! Let’s stand up. Leave your pillows where they are!” She made a gesture for everyone to stand as she crossed the room to open a brown box. 

Sam stood obediently, happy to put some space between him and Crowley. Nothing could be worse than this stupid whispering. 

When Selena turned back around, she grinned and held up a handful of brightly colored sleeping masks. 

God. No. 

Crowley looked less amused about this than Sam would have guessed; a little annoyed, even.

Selena went to each couple and handed them one of the blindfolds, which earned a lot of smirks and giggles from everyone. She dropped a blue one into Castiel’s hand as she passed him and Dean. 

At last she arrived to Sam and Crowley and offer them the last mask — a bright red and black striped one. Sam took it gingerly. 

“Okay! Put the mask on and take your partner’s hand. We’re going to play land mines!” 

Sam watched as the woman happily shuffled everyone to the edge of the room before scooting the pillows around. Pulling the mask onto his head, Sam tried to memorize where the pillows were laying. That way, he wouldn’t have to rely on Crowley. 

He tugged the blindfold down with a sigh and stuck his hand in the demon’s direction. It was still better than all the sexy whispering. Why Crowley didn’t like this was beyond Sam. He’d immediately assumed the shorter man would be ecstatic to have him blindfolded and at his mercy. 

The demon's fingers slid across his, their palms brushing before he clasped Sam's hand and held it securely.

"Land mines, hmm," Crowley murmured, much closer to his side than where Sam had last see him standing. "Are you nervous I'll get us blown up, Moose?"

“No,” Sam lied, slowly feeling around for where Crowley was. As soon as the blindfold was on, Sam’s hunter instincts kicked into overdrive. He didn’t want to alarm Crowley, but he was starting to feel panic rising in his chest. At last he found the demon’s shoulder. “M-maybe you should wear this?” 

Crowley lifted Sam’s hand and kissed his fingers softly.

"Now wouldn't that be cheating...?" He purred. For looking a little annoyed before, he sure sounded like he was back to normal now. Was it a show?

Sam shivered at the kiss as he heard Selena begin to explain the game. 

“Everyone go down to the end with the door and we’ll start. Be careful! Just walk around the edges now. The object of the game is to guide your partner through the ‘land mine’ pillows, feed them one of the candies you think they’d like from the bowls, then guide them back to your own pillows. I know it’s a lot for those that can’t see! Just relax! Your partner’s got you safe and sound.” 

Sam had to agree. Crowley and Dean were about the only people he’d trust to guide him around blind. He’d let Cas help him too, but he’d probably run into a wall by accident… 

Wait. Was Cas going to wear the blindfold? Selena had handed it to him. That was cheating! Sam frowned and squeezed Crowley’s hand, reminding himself that it wasn’t a contest. 

Definitely not a contest.  


* * *

  
As a rule, Dean didn't like being blindfolded. He wasn't a huge fan of being tied up, either, probably because people who did that over the years were usually planning to kill him shortly after.

Right now, though, with Cas's hand in his, he felt totally at ease. The angel had his back — there was no way they'd step on a pillow "land mine" and Dean knew it.

"Are we there yet?" He joked to Cas. "Can you see what kind of candy's over there from here?"

“Take a step to the left, Dean!” Cas practically shouted from right beside him, pulling him along to the left. Dean felt a pillow brush the toe of his boot. “Sorry,” the angel mumbled. “No, we’re not there yet. But we’re ahead of Crowley and Sam.” He added the last as a gravelly whisper against Dean’s ear. 

The shouting ought to have made him flinch, but Dean couldn't help it — he just chuckled. Cas sounded SO serious that it was ridiculous, and that was cute, and damn it, he loved the guy so much.

Squeezing Cas's hand, Dean leaned in and whispered back to him, "But they ARE still holding hands and in the running, right?"

“Yes.” 

The room seemed much longer with a blindfold on, but soon a hand pressed against Dean’s shoulder to stop him as they presumably reached the candy. Dean heard the sound of crinkling plastic, then Cas cleared his throat. 

“Open your mouth, Dean.” 

Even the blindfold probably couldn't hide the blushing that summoned up. Remembering Cas feeding him spaghetti and meatballs earlier this weekend, Dean followed the order, wondering if eye contact here was worse or better.

Who knew what kind of candy was in the bowl? Cas wouldn't feed him anything gross, right? Then again, Cas said food tasted like molecules, he probably had no clue what the candy tasted like to a human person...

The bittersweet buttery taste of chocolate landed on his tongue, much to Dean’s relief. A dark chocolate truffle or something. 

The angel’s fingertip brushed Dean’s lip as he retrieved his hand and asked softly, “Do you like it, Dean?” 

Here Dean was, valiantly resisting the urge to go 'mmmm' at the taste of the chocolate, and Cas had to go and say THAT. 

Face burning, the hunter murmured, "Yeah, I really like it, Cas. Good choice."

Dean could hear the smile on Castiel’s face as he mumbled, “Good.” The angel took his hand again and turned him around. “Now we just have to get back…Sam.” 

“Cas?” Sam’s voice sounded close. 

“I gave Dean a chocolate.” 

“Yeah. I’ll bet,” Sammy muttered, his voice sounded more distant as Cas led Dean on. 

“He seems upset,” the angel whispered. “Hopefully Crowley notices the baby carrots.” 

"Wow, they put those in there?" Dean whispered back. "Yeah, that'd be the Sam option, I guess."

Maybe. 

Then again, maybe not. Crowley called Sam "Moose" not "Horse."


	20. Train Wreck

Sam felt bad for Crowley having to hold his now sweaty hand. The eye mask had been a terrible idea. When the hell would this stupid exercise be over? Cas and Dean had already gotten to the candy! 

"Feathers looks like he'll smite any pillows that cross their path," Crowley murmured beside him, sounding amused. He placed a hand on Sam's chest. "Whoa, Moose, don't charge through the table now."

Sam stopped dead at his touch, praying Crowley assumed the pounding heartbeats were caused by HIM and not an idiotic blind panic. Literally. 

“He really loves Dean. H-he told me a couple months ago,” Sam admitted. 

"Oh, yes, some of the death threats back when we worked together made it clear that he's VERY attached to your brother," Crowley replied knowingly. That had been years ago.

Sam thought maybe he heard something being shifted around in the candy bowl, but there was no crinkling wrapper sound like he'd noticed before Cas mentioned the chocolate.

Crowley let go of his hand, touching his cheek instead. 

"Ready to be hand fed, then, darling?"

Sam cringed. Not really. A mouthful of chocolate would just remind him of kissing Crowley again, and he was trying very hard NOT to think about that. 

Sam sighed. 

“Can you just eat it?” 

Fingertips ran gently over his lips, and Crowley clicked his tongue.

"Remember what I said about no cheating? Open up, I promise this won't hurt."

When the brochure had said trust exercises, it would have been great if they had been more specific. Then again, the whole weekend would have been better if it hadn’t spelled doom for Sam and Crowley’s relationship. It occurred to Sam that he was acting like a child again. He opened his mouth and braced himself. 

For a split second, all Sam knew was that the small item resting on his tongue was definitely NOT chocolate. Or candy. Then the taste and scent of it hit him — juice, sweetness. A strawberry.

Fingers laced with his own again, Crowley squeezing his hand. 

"There, now. Not so bad."

Sam chewed it gingerly, his face growing warm. If there was one damn fruit that made him think of Crowley the most, it was strawberries. He swallowed the sting of emotional pain along with the berry and tried to put on a smile. 

“Thank you,” he mumbled. “I’d kiss you but I’d probably bust my lip.” 

Crowley's free hand went to the back of his neck, tugging to get him to bow his head.

"Then allow me," the demon said sweetly, and kissed him. His lips tasted like pineapple, Sam's like strawberries, and it was so sweet that it made Sam's chest ache. Crowley was playing more than nice for their last day together. 

Less than a day...just hours, now, really.

Crowley took a step away and drew Sam along by the hand, murmuring encouragements. He didn't seem to be keeping track of the time.

Sam was suddenly grateful for the mask over his eyes. It helped hide how much the kiss had affected him. He followed silently, taking note of everything in that moment. The feel of the demon’s hand, the taste of strawberry in his mouth. 

By the time they had reached their pillow again, Sam wanted to keep the mask on. He wanted to stay hidden away in his own little world where just he and Crowley existed. 

Selena’s voice cut through the quiet like a knife. 

“Excellent job everybody! Give yourself a hand and take off your masks!” 

Sam didn’t bother to clap before he slid the mask up onto his forehead. The room was brighter than he remembered. 

Crowley was sitting right there across from him, ignoring the talk of clapping as well. He was looking at Sam fondly, almost wistfully. It looked way too much like the way Sam was memorizing every touch and taste right now.

Sam stared back at him, smiling softly. How in the world could Crowley be evil with beautiful eyes like that? The big brunette scooted closer to wrap an arm around Crowley’s shoulders and rest his chin on his head. 

“Okay everybody. It’s time for the finale!” Selena cheered, waving her hands in excitement. “Follow me! We’re going out to the lake!” 

Crowley didn't seem thrilled about the idea of moving, not when Sam was hugging him like that. He sighed when Selena mentioned the lake.

"Maybe this is about the raft ride," he said softly, with a lot less enthusiasm than he'd had before about beating Dean and Cas in the contest.

“I don’t know,” Sam muttered as he stood up. He offered Crowley a hand. He just wanted to drag the demon back to their cabin and pretend the world didn’t exist until it was Monday morning. 

Crowley took his hand without a second thought, holding it tightly.

"Whatever it is...I'd like to talk to you after."  


* * *

  
As Selena led everyone down to the lake, the scent of meaty pasta drifted from the lodge. Dinner was being prepared. The last exercise couldn’t take that long. 

Cas was faithfully at Dean’s side, frowning and squinting off at Sam and Crowley, who were walking ahead of them on the walkway. He leaned next to Dean. 

“They’re acting happy again.” 

"Yeah, I know," Dean said flatly. He was trying not to grit his teeth. What the hell was Crowley doing? Sam was right, he was just letting this breakup happen, and that didn't exactly give Sam the impression he wanted to get MARRIED. Just the opposite, actually.

Dean sighed and stepped closer to wrap an arm around Cas's waist. 

"Sorry, Cas, I'm not annoyed at you. Just want Sam to be happy," he said quietly.

Cas pressed a kiss to his cheek and looped an arm around Dean in kind. 

“I feel the same way. I don’t know how to help him. If Crowley would just admit how he feels, I’m sure Sam would reconsider.” 

"If he can tell me, he can tell Sam," Dean grumbled. He couldn't stay that pissed with Cas kissing his cheek and hugging him. He was stupid lucky the angel loved him — it would be hard to even believe it if Cas wasn't so sincere while talking about it.

Which led back to Crowley, and the fact that he needed to use his damned words.

From the sound of it, Sam had shut him down with some talk they'd had earlier, which Sam was unaware of. Which was frustrating as all hell for Dean and Cas, watching their train wreck of an excuse for communication.

Dean felt like a hypocrite, getting on anybody's case for not admitting to feelings. As if he and Cas had been any better for the past, oh, several YEARS. Unlike Sam and Crowley, though, Dean and Cas hadn't complicated it by getting together anyway and just claiming it was no strings attached. Now Sam and the demon had issues with whether the other was sincere about things.

Train. Wreck.

Selena stopped as they reached the lake side and turned to address the crowd. 

“This is it. The last trust exercise! The first couple to reach the end gets TWO rocks to add to their collection!” 

Cas perked up at the mention of rocks. He had been on a crusade to find them before he and Dean decided to opt out of the raft ride. Hopefully there were enough left around to let someone else win the contest. 

There was a big floating bridge made out of multiple foam-looking platforms behind Selena. They were patterned like a checkerboard in black and white…and didn’t have any railing.

“All you have to do is guide your partner to the end and back, first ONLY on the black squares — then ONLY the white ones. Line up!” 

Selena stepped to have her back to the platform and a handsome man in a tight pair of yoga pants stepped up to join her. They held each other arm in arm and she grinned straight at Cas as she continued. 

“On the way out, the partner facing the lake has to tell you which foot to step with. You just need to trust each other. Okay?” 

Dean was pretty sure 'train wreck' would apply to all of them by the end of this one.

He turned and met Castiel's blue, blue eyes and couldn't say there was any way this could turn out bad for them. Worse case, they fell in the lake and he got to see Cas in his wet borrowed T-shirt and jeans.

"Follow my lead?" He offered, smiling. This way if they screwed up it was on him.  


* * *

  
Sam faced the lake, slipping an arm around Crowley. Their height difference was going to make this dumb exercise more difficult than it had to be. He glanced down at his partner and pulled on a smile. 

“Sorry in advance if we get soaked.” 

Usually Crowley would have tossed some snarky comment back about how Sam looked in a wet shirt. He just gave a small smile in return now, though, wrapping his arm around Sam's waist. Having his back to the lake made it tougher to see what expression he wore.

"Oh, no, water," the demon remarked drolly, a beat past when Sam had given up on a reply. "What torture."

The other couples lined up beside them, including Betty and Victoria. The busty blond was snuggled up to her ex-fiance like all was right in the world. Sam had to wonder if they had talked through their problems, or were doing what he and Crowley were and pretending there was no problem. 

With all the couples lined up together, every other couple had to start on a different foot. 

“Okay! Before we start, one last rule. If you misstep, you have to take a step back two squares. Get ready!” 

Sam swallowed nervously and looked down. Left foot. Easy. Crowley had to step back with his left foot. Left. Left. 

“GO!” 

“Left foot,” Sam said quickly. 

Crowley moved his left foot first, stepping back without even trying to look. Did demons have any better senses of what was around them than humans? He follow Sam's lead like he wasn't worried in the least.

It really did seem like he trusted Sam to lead them. Did he, though, or was it just that this didn't matter enough to care whether they failed?

As they stepped along lightly liked dancers, Sam tried not to get distracted by the thought of actually dancing with Crowley. When was the last time he danced? 

…Would they have danced at their wedding? 

He cringed at the sound of Selena’s voice. 

“Two steps back, Sam! The pattern changes between platforms hun!” 

“I’m sorry,” he told Crowley immediately, stepping back two blocks. 

Crowley moved effortlessly along during the steps back, too.

"So am I," he replied almost casually, like it was just another part of the game. "You led us there, but I followed, didn't I?"

Sam took hold of Crowley again and led them along, focusing just on the pattern of the platforms under their feet. 

“Okay, now right again. This is the platform,” he told the demon quietly as they made it to the last edge. Now if he could manage not to back Crowley into the lake, they could start on the way back. 

"Right," Crowley echoed, stepping along as easily as ever. He sighed.

“Slowly,” Sam said as they reached the last two steps. “Left foot, then stop. We’re at the edge. Not too far.” He held onto the demon tighter in the off chance he stepped too widely. 

Crowley stepped perfectly, though, the way he'd been doing all along. He would be good as dancing, Sam decided.

The demon looked straight out the way they'd come, the path Sam's back was to, and frowned.

"Do I lead now, then?"

“I guess so,” Sam mumbled. He glanced back behind him. Oh. This wasn’t going to be good. He turned back to Crowley and frowned. ”Let's do this."

Crowley looked like he wanted to say something, but he nodded quickly in return, hugging tighter around Sam's waist.

"White squares," he said. "Don't even look, just step with me. Right foot first."

Sam bit his lip and stepped as he was told, staring off at the lake behind Crowley. 

The sun was sinking lower. Their last day was passing by. Crowley had said that he wanted to talk after the trust exercises. Sam was worried that whatever conversation they had would cut their day off even sooner.


	21. Forever and Today

"Get ready to switch feet," Crowley warned. Were they really already to the other section? Two steps later, he said calmly, "Left foot now, Moose."

Sam stepped back with his left foot, feeling the shift of the platform on the water. He dared a smile at Crowley. 

“You’re really good at this. I wish we—” Sam cut himself off and focused on his feet again. No. No getting sentimental, he told himself. 

"Wish we were also better at other things? Me, too," Crowley replied smoothly. The platform wobbled beneath them; somebody else hadn't kept their footing, from the sound of the splash.

Sam was sorely tempted to look and see who it was, but that meant risking their own progress. 

“I just wish we had had a chance to dance together. I think it w-would have been fun,” Sam said quietly, keeping his eyes on the lake in front of him. 

"It would have," Crowley agreed, ignoring the platform wobbling again. Sounded like somebody backed off the edge at the end of the first half.

"I had wishes, too," he added softly. "Hopes."

In their next step, Sam's foot was on the shore again. They'd done it, they'd reached the end. Talking made the race fly by, and somehow hadn't distracted them from stepping in sync.

Crowley immediately stepped further ashore, letting go of Sam.

“We did it,” Sam said with a smile. He wrapped Crowley in a hug and sighed, kissing the demon’s forehead softly. Sam glanced out back onto the platform to see who had fallen in. 

“Congrats guys! You won!” Selena practically jumped into their view, offering them her palm with two bright green rocks on it. 

Crowley accepted the offering, smiling at her.

"We do work well together," he murmured to Sam, turning to hug him tightly back.

Dean and Castiel were already on the shore, both soaking wet. They clearly had fallen into the lake, but neither seemed to care — Dean was chuckling and kissing the angel's nose, probably thinking nobody else was looking.

The scene made Sam smile. Seeing Dean that happy was so rare an occasion. 

“Aw, you guys fell in?” Sam called to his brother, nodding to the two rocks Crowley had. “That sucks. Thanks for the lead.” 

Cas frowned his way, but it was mixed with a smile. 

“If you’re lucky, it will be a tie.” 

Nobody had admitted what their painted rock count was yet, so they still didn't know who had won the raft ride. With Castiel's relentless searching, Sam seriously doubted anybody but him, Dean, Crowley and Sam were contenders, though.

Speaking of the raft ride, though, it had to be coming up. There wasn't much day left.

“Good job everybody!” Selena cheered as the last couple made it clumsily to the shore again. Judging by their expressions, they were about to have a fight that would shake the trees. “That does it for the trust exercises. Everyone did an amazing job. Isn’t it awesome what a little trust can do for you?” 

Sam noticed Betty and Victoria off to the side hugging. Victoria was actually smiling for once. Maybe they really had talked through their issues. Sam frowned. The only possible solution he could come up for his own relationship woes with was to become a demon, and that wasn’t happening anytime soon. 

“Tonight’s dinner is butter lobster and lots of other yummy sea food favorites! And after dinner, we’ll be counting those rocks, so don’t forget to bring yours,” Selena told the group. Sam noticed that she patted Castiel’s arm gently as she handed him and Dean fluffy white towels.

Everyone started to disperse, so Sam turned to go back up the walkway to the lodge. Dinner sounded nice. Hopefully they had a salad bar again. 

Crowley caught his hand, though, tugging on it to get him to stop.

"We need to talk, Moose."

The tall brunette froze in his tracks as Betty and Victoria walked past him. 

No. 

He turned back to the demon and braced himself. Why couldn’t they just go have dinner like everyone else? 

Crowley let go of his hand as soon as he turned. He leaned around Sam to be sure the last of the others had actually gone into the lodge. 

"Why Monday?" He asked, when he was sure they were alone.

Sam swallowed. He had barely been keeping it together all day. They just had a couple more hours before they were cozied up in bed. He didn’t want to talk. 

“What do you mean?” 

Did Crowley want another day…or was he sick of playing the happy couple? 

The demon frowned up at him, holding out his hands. 

“Why this deadline for us? It’ll all turn out the same in the end,” he pointed out. “You and I apart, alone, loveless. Well, I know one of us will be. So what difference does it make if it’s tomorrow or half a century from now?” He’d agreed with Sam without any of these questions back on that hiking trail. He didn’t seem too broken up right now, either, just bemused.

“No,” Sam sighed as he took a step closer to the demon. He shook his head. “It’ll end when you get bored with me. Or when I finally die. Winchester lives always end badly. Sooner or later, my time will run out. We…” Sam was starting to choke on his words. He’d been so careful. “We don’t get forever. I want you to be far away when I die so it’ll h-hurt you less.” 

He hoped the implication was clear. After all the trust exercises, he suspected that the demon might actually have feelings for him. Sam wanted to say it to Crowley’s face, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it out loud. 

Love. He was in love with Crowley.

“Oh yes?” The demon looked at him bitterly and shook his head. “Well, too late! You think this won’t hurt after you’re gone? You think I’ll just go on with it all like you meant NOTHING to me?” He tried to scowl, but it came out more sad than angry — same as the soft words he said next. “You’re the closest to love I’ve ever been. We almost had it, Sam.”

“Almost had it,” Sam murmured. He averted his eyes out to the lake. The sunset was starting on their last day, painting the blue water and the white lodge above the lake a soft pink. He looked back down at Crowley, blinking to clear the blur of tears from his eyes. “I love you,” he admitted in a whisper. “I kept hoping that you’d be able to love me too but you never said it. You never showed it. You just kept playing along.”

“You hoped?” Crowley growled. If Sam didn’t know better, he’d think the demon sounded hurt. “You bloody told me not to ask for anything more from you! I’ve been as nice and as patient as can be to make YOU happy — even while you’re about to abandon me! And is it really love if you don’t want to love me?” 

“I hoped for MONTHS. We’ve known each other for years and we’ve been dating for awhile! I waited and I waited. When we got here, I realized that I had been waiting for something that was NEVER going to happen!” Sam took a breath and stepped away in tears. “That’s why I’m distancing myself. I wasn’t lying when I said now wasn’t enough. We’ll break up and I’ll be alone! I can’t live like that again!” 

Crowley looked at him sadly. 

“Well, neither can I,” he whispered, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets. He fixed hazel eyes on the ground at his feet, brows furrowed low and troubled. “Because I love you, too — too much, so much I thought that if I just said it, you might not believe me. Didn’t anything I did ever show that, even once?”

Sam just nodded, a bit stunned by Crowley’s words. He moved closer again, though he didn’t reach for him. 

“I thought I w-was imagining it. I wanted you to love me SO badly…” He covered his mouth with a hand, worried what he’d say next. He’d hurt Crowley. That was exactly what he’d wanted to avoid. The swirl of painful emotions was mixed with the realization of what the demon had just said. Sam glanced down at him and bit his lip. “You love me?” 

“Yes. And you see how easily anyone believes that, so I wanted to SHOW you. That’s why I booked this ridiculous trip in the first place,” the demon grumbled, waving a hand around them. “I had plans.” Sam thought maybe his voice sounded a bit hoarse, though. 

Crowley pulled his other hand out of his pocket, grabbing Sam’s hand to press a little square shape into it. 

“In case you think I’m just saying what you want to hear now.”

“I believe you, Crowley. I don’t need any more gifts,” Sam said more softly, sniffling a bit. What was he supposed to do now? It really had been HIS fault. He’d thrown Crowley away when they might have really had something. Whatever that something was, it was all Sam wanted. The demon was right. Now or in an eternity, they’d be alone. Sam had tried to take comfort in the fact that he would die first, but that left Crowley behind. That thought was much worse than dying. 

He turned his hand and examined what Crowley had placed there through blurry eyes. 

It was a little black…velvet…ring box.

“It’s not a gift,” Crowley said. “It’s a plea, Sam. Don’t deny us each other. Let us have the one lifetime that we can have together. If you say no, I’ll still keep our deal — Monday morning — but, please…”

Sam stared at the box. His hands were shaking as he looked back at Crowley. He felt dizzy. Was this just a dream? A quiet domestic life had been Sam’s dream a long time ago. Before spells, monsters and the end of the world. Before he met the demon. 

“A-are you serious?” He managed finally, holding up the little box. “I’m not playing around. You better be damned sure…because I am.” Sam stepped closer, opening the box between them. 

The ring glinted softly in the last few rays of sunset. It was a smooth silvery band, not ornate or showy like he would have guessed Crowley would pick out. Beautifully simple. 

“I agreed to Monday because you wouldn’t be leaving today.” Crowley stepped closer, too, and took Sam’s free hand in both of his. “I wish I could offer forever, but all I can do is promise that I won’t be the one to do the leaving. Marry me, Moose. You’re human, do the young and stupid thing.”

Sam smiled through the tears, nodding. 

“I hate Mondays anyway,” he joked half-heartedly, leaning to press a kiss to the demon’s lips. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”

The kiss back was the softest one Crowley had ever given him. He let go of the breath he’d been holding in a whoosh, closing the distance between them to hug Sam tight around the waist. 

“I love you,” he murmured against Sam’s shoulder, “I love you, and I’m sorry I didn’t say it every day.”

“I should have said it sooner. I love you too,” Sam said. He ran a hand over the demon’s hair, holding him tight. He was tempted to put the ring on himself, but it seemed like something Crowley should do. Maybe even in front of Dean and Cas. 

Good grief. The looks on their faces were going to be priceless. Hopefully they were high off of being together and wouldn’t throw a fit until later. 

Sam didn’t care. They could complain all they wanted to. He got Crowley all to himself. 

Crowley sat back just enough to look up at him, his eyes twinkling with fondness and mischief. 

“We’ve got plenty of time to make it up to each other. Right now we should go in there and beat Feathers and Dean at this stupid rock collecting contest, what do you say?”

“Let’s kick their asses,” Sam grinned, drying his eyes with the edge of his sleeves. He held up the ring box. “Do you want to do the honors? We can wait,” he added quickly. “If you want to. It’s fine. I can wait.” 

"Oh, no you can’t," Crowley murmured, taking the box from him and slipping the ring out. He took Sam's right hand gently and slid the ring onto his finger, smiling. "This engagement is already started. It started when we said 'I love you', and when you said yes." He placed a kiss over the ring, across Sam’s fingers. “You’re mine, darling.”

Sam smiled at the ring. It was silly how happy it made him feel. He cupped the demon’s face with a hand and kissed him sweetly. 

“And you’re mine.” He hugged Crowley one last time then turned them toward the trail. They had a raft ride to win.


	22. Monday, Monday

“There they are,” Cas whispered back to Dean, tugging him along by the hand through the gathered crowd of couples waiting in line for the dinner buffet. Everyone could order from their table if they didn’t mind waiting, which seemed like what Cas wanted to do. 

As they cleared the crowd a bit, Dean spotted Sam and Crowley at the table back in the corner. They were sitting side by side. Had they actually talked? 

“Do you want to sit with them?” Cas asked Dean, looking up at him. They had retreated to their cabin to swap out their wet clothes and just like before, Cas had had to borrow some of Dean’s. 

He looked just as good in a Metallica shirt as he did in a Led Zeppelin one. The angel’s hair was still damp from the dunk in the lake, and even though Dean had ran his fingers through it a lot already, he was tempted to do it again. He smiled at Cas instead, though, squeezing his hand. 

“Yeah, it’s the last day, what the hell. They aced the raft thing, maybe it put them in a good mood.” 

They made their way over and Sam noticed them as they got close. He waved a hand and smiled. 

“Hey Cas.” 

“Hello Sam. Crowley.” Cas scooted into the booth and settled himself across the table from Crowley. “Congratulations on your victory.” 

“Thanks. We make a pretty good team.” Sammy’s smile brightened and he wrapped an arm over Crowley’s shoulders, pressing a kiss to the demon’s cheek.

A metallic glint immediately caught Dean’s eye — a silver band on Sam’s right ring finger. 

“Congratulations on more than that,” he noted, raising his eyebrows. He and Crowley exchanged a glance, and Dean smiled, turning to Sam. “What, nobody’s gonna ask for my blessing or anything?”

Sam’s face flushed and he shrank in his seat. Which meant he was almost down to Crowley’s height. 

“I, uh…” He swallowed and glanced at Crowley. “I didn’t think you’d want to know. You know, after all the crap this weekend.” 

Dean snorted, waving a hand at Crowley.

“Guess Crowley didn’t mention the part where I was rooting for you two to kiss and make up.”

“Oh, yes, there’s a good proposal,” the demon replied drolly, “’Marry me, Moose, it’s what your brother wants.’”

He looked up at Sam like maybe he was a little worried about his reaction, though. Dean wasn’t used to the demon looking like he cared what anybody else thought, and it was both weird and kind of endearing.

Sam looked down at Crowley, rubbing the back of his shoulder gently. He glanced from the demon to Dean. 

“So…we have your blessing then?” 

“You have my blessing, Sam,” Cas replied confidently. He looked Dean’s way expectantly. 

It was really happening. His little brother was about to marry the King of Hell, a very old and very powerful DEMON. 

Dean had to wonder what exactly their honeymoon plans were, not to mention after that. Still, he’d seen how much Sam loved Crowley this weekend. And he’d already kind of given his blessing when he told Crowley to get his ass in gear and fix this. That was a Dean-style blessing if ever there was one.

“Damn right you do,” he told Sam, grinning. “When’s the wedding? Gonna honeymoon in Hell?”

“That’s, um, future stuff. We haven’t really talked about it yet,” Sam said shyly. He rested his cheek on Crowley’s head. 

“I see.” Cas scooted closer to Dean and hugged an arm around his waist. “Neither have we.” 

The conversation was interrupted by a waiter delivering their menus. He had two boxes labeled ‘Winchester’ under his arm, which he sat down with the menus. 

“If you would please put your rocks in here, I’ll tally them up,” he said with a smile. 

Cas immediately started unloading his pockets into the nearest box. 

Dean leaned and squinted at the names on the boxes.

“How are you gonna tell which Winchester had which box?” He asked the waiter, amused. Still, he pulled the couple of painted rocks he’d been carrying around out of his pocket and added them to the box Cas had chosen. He knew how many he and Cas had had, but Sam and Crowley still hadn’t mentioned their number.

Whatever. He and Cas didn’t want the raft ride, anyway. “It was the journey that mattered” or something sappy like that.

“Oh. Hmm.” The waiter glanced at the labels and smiled sheepishly. “I can relabel them.” He pulled a pen from his pocket and added ‘D.’ in front of one of the Winchester labels. “Better?”

“Much,” Sam said with a smile in return. He dropped a handful of rocks into the box. Cas was already counting them as Sam turned to Crowley. “Do you have the rest?”

The demon stuck a hand into the pocket of his black blazer and drew out the two neon green stones they had just won during the trust exercises, offering them to Sam. The look he wore was almost…it was a weird word to apply to a demon, but WARM.

Dean peeked over at Cas. 

‘Two more,’ he mouthed, nodding. Had they won, or had Sam and Crowley?

“Congratulations,” Cas frowned, then stuck a hand out. Sam shook it with a grin. 

“Thank you, Cas. But we don’t want the raft ride anyway.” 

“Are you sure? It’s very romantic,” the waiter chimed in, counting over the rocks. He clapped his hands. “Wow! You really DID win! Congratulations! We have our raft winners!” The waiter cheered as he turned to wave his arms at Selena. The brunette grinned and hurried over to join them in her tight little black dress. 

“Wow! I’m so happy for you two!” She said almost tearfully, clasping her hands together and looking straight at Cas. Sam waved a hand to catch her attention.

“No. Um. It was us.” 

“Oh.” Selena cringed at Cas and turned to pull on a big smile for Sam and Crowley. “Are you ready for a night out on the lake, guys?” 

Dean wrapped an arm around Cas and kissed his cheek, trying not to laugh. Selena still seemed to have the impression that they were having relationship problems. Maybe a few days ago, but not now.

Crowley gave Selena his most charming smile (which, Dean had to admit, was pretty damn charming) and held up a hand. 

“Could we have just a moment to talk first?”

“Oh, of course!” She beamed. She waved the waiter after her as they returned to their post behind the buffet. 

They hadn’t taken their orders.

Dean looked between Sam and Crowley. 

“You guys aren’t gonna try to make us go out there, are you? You won fair and square,” he said, “And I’d be happy anywhere if Cas was there.” Okay, it was true, but saying it outright kind of made him blush still. The amount of love for Cas that he was carrying around was still hitting him over the head at this point.

“That’s sweet,” Crowley said mildly, not one bit surprised. At least he didn’t roll his eyes. Instead he turned to Sam, took both of his hands, and got a serious look. “Moose, last chance to claim the raft ride if you really wanted it.”

Sam shook his head, a little lost in the demon’s gaze. He smiled softly. 

“I’m with Dean on this one. I’m happy wherever YOU are. Maybe we can give it to Betty?”

Crowley smirked a lot, but Dean didn’t often see him just genuinely, happily smile. He was doing it now, though.

“I was hoping that you would say that.” He got to his feet, kissed the top of Sam’s head since that was only possible while Sam was sitting down, and headed off toward Selena.

“Wow, Sammy, what’d you do to him?” Dean teased. “He’s practically a teddy bear now.” This was a great use of the raft ride, though. He was sure Victoria would appreciate it, too, as much of a Robo Chick as she usually seemed.

“Gave him a chance,” Sam said, suddenly serious as he examined the band around his finger. He rotated it slowly and smiled again. “Thank you for following us here.” He looked up at Dean, then to Cas. “Really. I love you guys.”

Dean sighed. There was no getting around it, it was time to go full sap. He got up and stepped around the table to wrap his giant little brother in a hug. 

“Love you, too, you big mushball,” he chuckled. Sitting back, he patted Sam’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “And thank YOU for running off to the woods with the King of Hell. Made me and Cas finally talk it out,” he admitted sheepishly.

Sam got up, biting his lip. His eyes were tearing up as he caught Dean in a tight hug. 

“I’m so happy for you guys.” 

Cas joined them suddenly, ducking under Sam’s arm to hug them both. 

“Thank you. I love you too, Sam.” 

Sam adjusted to hug Cas too, his eyes tearing up all over again. 

Dean rubbed Sam’s back and enjoyed being sandwiched against Castiel’s side. Chuck only knew what the rest of the room was assuming seeing the three of them standing around having a hug-fest at a couple’s retreat, but he felt warm and fuzzy and didn’t care. Sam was happy, Cas freaking LOVED Dean, and having the King of Hell for a brother-in-law was not the worst thing that had ever happened to him. Not by a long shot.

“I see how it is.” Speak of the Devil…well, close. Crowley sounded like he was feigning annoyance, talking near Dean’s left. “I leave you alone for five minutes and you’re having a cuddle three-way in the middle of—” 

Dean snagged him by the arm and pulled him into the group hug, cutting off whatever he’d been about to add. 

“Shut up,” he advised, patting the demon’s back. Crowley seemed so small next to him and Cas and especially Sam — was he short or were they just all tall? Unlike Cas, Crowley’s true form was not the height of the Chrysler Building, either.

Sam chuckled and let go of Cas and Dean, pulling Crowley into a hug instead. He kissed the shorter man’s cheek.

“Did you talk to Betty?”

“Mmhmm,” the demon purred, rotating in his arms to face back the way he’d come. He hugged Sam’s arms around his waist, nodding ahead to Betty and Victoria, who Dean had just noticed approaching the table. “They wanted to talk to the rest of you too.”

Dean ran a hand through his hair, looking at the women sheepishly. Hopefully giving them the prize didn’t seem like an insult somehow. 

“Dean!” Betty squeaked as she threw her arms around him, smashing herself against him. She hugged Cas next, then stepped back. “Guess what King Crowley just gave me? Like oh-my-gawd. I can’t even!” She fanned her face and turned to hug her leggy ex-fiance. 

“The raft ride,” Victoria said calmly. 

“Aw baby,” Betty said childishly, looking up at her girlfriend. “You totally spoiled the surprise!”

Wow, they were right back to the same old Robo Chick and Demon Gidget. Dean had actually gotten kind of fond of them at this point, though, and had to laugh.

“Guess you two talked it out, then, huh?” He asked, glancing at Victoria as he said it. “Glad to see it.”

“Me, too,” Crowley chimed in. He held up Sam’s hand, showing them the ring. “Now we can SWAP wedding invitations.”

“OH. MY. GOD!” Betty squealed, hopping up and down in place. “My Lord! You’re getting hitched!” With another ear splitting screech of joy, she bounded over to hug Crowley too. “THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!” 

Sam leaned away a bit. He was still smiling though. 

“Gratz,” Victoria said shortly, slapping Dean lightly on the back. 

“Oh, I’m not…uh…” Dean glanced at Cas and felt his face getting warm. They’d both said they were in this forever. Maybe they WERE getting married, too. There was no proposal, though… This weekend was like some crazy rom-com, everybody was going home engaged. “Thanks,” he told Victoria after a moment, and offered a small grin in return. “You better go enjoy that raft ride, or they’re gonna think nobody wants it.” 

“Betty, babe, we gotta get goin’.” Victoria waved her fiance over and took her hand. Betty was sobbing and dabbing at her eyes as they turned to go. 

The blond waved to Crowley. 

“I’ve got so many ideas for your wedding, sir! Like Juliet being the ring bearer! She’d be the CUTEST thing EVER! Give me a call sometime, okay?” Betty called back as they walked. 

“I will, darling — you have fun!” Crowley said, waving after her. He turned to Sam, Dean and Cas after a moment, directing that charming, charming smile at them all. “This is quite the occasion, boys. Let’s drink to us, shall we?”  


* * *

  
It was Monday, and Crowley was still there. After all of the dread and despair over the past few days, it felt almost too good to be true. Crowley was there when Sam woke up. Crowley was there helping to pack their suitcases. Crowley was there, in his favorite suit and tie, at the retreat’s goodbye breakfast.

And now Crowley was right here grumbling about their method of transportation.

“I could transport us back to the bunker in SECONDS,” the demon said, frowning down his nose at the old champagne Lincoln Continental Castiel insisted on driving. “And instead we have to spend hours in this…thing.”

“It’s Cas’s car. We can’t just leave it here,” Sam commented as he loaded their suitcases into the trunk. The luggage hid the arsenal of weapons nicely. 

Sam shut the trunk and circled back to his fiance, taking the shorter man in his arms and kissing him softly. 

“We’re not really in a hurry to get home. Maybe we can sightsee a little? Stop somewhere for a coffee date?” 

Crowley looked up at him fondly, leaning against his chest. 

“I suppose you’re right — this is a chance for some time alone.” He glanced over at the sound of a familiar engine rumbling, and Sam looked just in time to see the Impala pull up beside them, Dean behind the wheel and Cas riding shotgun.

Leaning one arm out the window, Sam’s brother smiled brightly.

“Hey, Cas says you better swing by a gas station — he drove here right from a hunt, sort of, and the tank’s running on empty.”

“Of course it is,” Crowley replied drolly, exchanging a look with the angel. If Sam didn’t know better, he’d think it was a silent thank you for giving them an excuse to take longer on the return trip.

“Don’t worry, Cas. We’ll take good care of your car.” 

“Thank you Sam. Have a safe trip home,” Cas said sincerely. He leaned closer to Dean and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “We’re taking a scenic route, too.”

Judging by how pink Dean’s face got as he drove them away, they’d be ‘taking the scenic route’ all day long. Crowley smirked at the Impala’s retreating taillights. 

“Why don’t we get that coffee to go, and go find a park? I miss Juliet,” he said, starting for the passenger door of Cas’s Pimpmobile. “And I’ve got to tell her she’s about to have another Papa.”

“Yeah, I think Betty was onto something there,” Sam teased as he climbed into the car and shut the door. He waited for his fiance to get in before starting the engine. 

Crowley did so, although he utterly ignored his seat belt. A car accident was so far down on the list of things that were threatening to him that it didn’t even register. 

“Something tells me this wedding will be on earth, not in Hell,” he said, smiling at Sam. “I don’t care, Moose. I don’t care about the cake, or the flowers, or the ceremony. All I want is you, for as long as I can possibly have you.”

It still wasn't forever. Sam would still die someday and they'd be apart, probably. But they had right now. The phrase ‘Til death do us part’ had never applied better. That would have to wait until the wedding, though. 

He reached over and took the demon’s hand in his, smiling back.

“Who knows? Maybe that will be forever. You’re marrying a Winchester. Anything can happen.” 

Crowley kissed his hand.

“Whatever happens, darling, I’ll be right here.” 

And Sam knew that he would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's complete! This fic has been a great, fun project for us to co-write, and we hope you've enjoyed reading about the antics of Sam, Dean, Cas and Crowley as much as we enjoyed writing about them. Thank you for reading - we've loved reading your comments along the way! ♥ See you next fic (which is already in the works. =)


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